Thirty-Something Soccer Mom

In my opinion, the hardest age to Christmas shop for boys is between the ages of 8-13 years. It’s also the age when many parents cave to the pressure and buy their first gaming console.  So if you’re stuck in this dilemma, scroll to the end of my article and you’ll find a link to some great gift giving ideas as well as hope and encouragement to stay the course in avoiding the video game craze.     

It’s WORTH the struggle. 

Just so you know, I’m a mother of 3 teenage sons who successfully survived those difficult gift-giving years without buying video games and I’m SO glad I did.  You may be thinking it’s an uphill battle and it’s only a matter of time before you’ll have to give in, but I promise you, this phase won’t last forever.

In a few years they’ll be too busy at sports practices or after school activities, doing their homework, hanging out with friends, working a job, eating and sleeping they won’t  have TIME for video games.  Not to mention their interest in playing will have dwindled greatly as they’ve learned to spend their time pursuing other activities and interests.  This phase you’re in (ages 8-13 years old) is the HARDEST. But hang in there, you can do it.   I promise that one day you’ll be so glad you did (and so will your future daughter-in-law).

Regret from Mothers Who Gave in

I’ve been there.  I know it’s hard.  But trust me, you won’t regret this decision.  I do however, frequently hear from moms who didn’t want to do the video game thing but at the time felt they had no other choice.  Now, years later, they confide in me that they wish they’d never started down that path…I don’t want you to have those same regrets too.

Over the years I’ve had many young moms who know my sons come up to me and ask for advice on raising boys.  “I want my sons be be like yours,” they say.  I always consider this a huge compliment and I’m happy to share with them some of the things we’ve done with our boys but at the top of that list are things we’ve intentionally not done and video games is one of them.  

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the kind of person that thinks video games come from the devil but I do think that our decision to avoid them has played a HUGE part in why my boys are the kind of young men they are today.  

My boys, November 2017, Clearwater Beach, Florida.

This was a decision my husband and I made when our boys were just toddlers. We worried about the slippery slope of managing their screen time and even more we worried about the distraction video games would be in keeping them from doing the good things we knew would help them grow into great men.  

So if you’re trying to avoid the gift of video games this Christmas, I applaud you for your efforts.  Stay strong and stick to your convictions.  I have no doubt you’ll be looking back 10 years from now, thankful that you didn’t cave.  

And Finally…The List.

I have my own list of favorite toys we bought our boys during these years (and I’ll include them in the comment thread on my Facebook page) but by far the BEST resource I’ve found is a list I discovered from fellow blogger Brooke Romney.  Every year she puts out a list of the BEST SCREEN FREE GIFTS FOR BOYS  and it’s FANTASTIC.  

http://brookeromney.com/2017/11/the-best-screen-free-gifts-for-boys-2017/

There are so many incredible toys out there for boys with all types of interests.  So if your son isn’t an athlete or an outdoors type, that’s okay.  You’ll find some great ideas for him too.  Be sure to check out the other links at the bottom of her article that link to lists from previous years too.

When you’re shopping for your sons this Christmas remember you’re not just giving them toys.  Your giving them tools that can help them grow into the kind of men our world needs more of.

Happy Holidays and Happy Hunting!