Our Family Survived The First Week of ‘Pokemon Go!’

A week ago today, I woke up and immediately was launched into blind confusion about what this new Pokemon Go thing was all about.  A game where it gets kids out into the real world? What?  Gotta catch them all?  What?  So to better understand what our 8 year old was so obsessed about, I downloaded the game.   And I immediately started playing.  

It's addictive, and my wife now has downloaded the app.  We were catching pokemon right off the bat, and planning walking adventures to the nearest poke stop.  So for all the negativity that surrounds the game from haters, it actually does get you outside.  That's definitely something the world needs more of.

When my nieces and our son got bored at Sunday dinner, we gave them a phone, a safety talk, and let them go around the neighborhood looking for pokemons.  They caught 7 and had a blast.

Probably the strangest thing we encountered was some people driving by in their van and stopping at a pokestop near the park.  They pulled over, got out their phones, and quickly grabbed their items without ever leaving the vehicle.  I don't think they really understand the point.

Of course we are hearing stories about car accidents and people falling off of cliffs, and other harm that has come to people because they weren't paying attention to their surroundings.   This was of course expected, but it's still sad either way.  But, I don't blame the game developers.  If you're that worried about your kids, follow them along and make it a family walk.  That's what we do!