This Yahoo News article highlighted a recent Associated Press-AOL Games poll. Among other significant numbers, 43% of parents whose children play videogames do not play along. Of the remaining parents, 30% say that when they do, it’s less than an hour per week. I can’t help but think that this is a wasted opportunity. At the same time, recognizing how many hours many parents have to work, time can become an even more precious thing.

The perception that many people have is that videogames are a waste of time. Depending on what you need to do with your time, this could be a very valid argument. Some weeks I spend 60+ hours working. If I’m going to have some time with my kids, I’d rather be able to read to them and get some tickling time in or maybe a few rounds of hide-and-seek before we wind down for bed. We don’t need to spend precious shared time watching TV or playing a videogame. Yet, when I have a whole weekend of activities, I enjoy the variety and relief offered by watching a Scooby Doo episode or playing with a PS2 Eyetoy title. (I can’t tell you how often I hear the pleading for the “wishy washy game.”)

However, keep in mind that my kids are all under 5 at the moment. When my son is 14, kicking back with a videogame on the weekend might become quality time. I want to do what I can to find ways for our kids to want to spend time with us as well as their friends. Heck, maybe when they’re in high school they’ll have their friends over to play Halo 12 and I’ll be invited to join. (I can dream!)

I plan to find as many ways to relate to my children as I can because the more that we understand each other, the more we’ll appreciate and respect each other. That’s the only way that our kids will listen to us. And we need to return that favor. As parents, I hope that we all strive to find opportunities to build positive common experiences whenever possible. It’s too easy to lose one’s sense of priorities with other pressing time-lines. (Anyone care to guess what Harry Chapin song I heard earlier today?)

 Special thanks to our friend David Stoddard for passing us the link!