4 Ways Pokémon Can Make You a Better Parent

When you become a parent, you have the pleasure or pain of being able to dive back into the world of kid’s toys. For some people, this may be a pain with the endless buying of AAA batteries and stepping on Legos, but for many years I was a big nerd who collected comics and loved diving into the realms of Star Wars, X-Men or any other rich world I could get my hands on.

Fast forward to a year or two ago when my son walks in from daycare and asks me.

“Dad, do you know what a Pikachu is?”

My first reaction is to say the Dad thing to the effect of “of course not, that is kids’ stuff” but I think about it for a second and realise this is a chance to connect with my son.

I am usually quick to dismiss any new toy franchises as they seem to lack any depth. Those that have been around for decades though, have rich backstories to engage in imagination and learning. Pokémon came out when I was about fifteen so it missed me by a few years but it is still around 20 years later and stronger than ever.

Maybe there is something here.

Sure enough six months later my son and I are deep into the world of Pokémon and we haven’t looked back. It has been a great way for us to bond and have something in common for long conversations.

Like any creative work there are themes which run through this diverse world that I needed to be at peace with if it is going to be a part of my parenting journey.

Pokémon teaches you how to grind.

This is probably true of any video game these days. It is something I was never really attracted to and felt playing hours at a game was a false economy. My perception shifted though when I realised that this was just another version of training delayed gratification. You can’t get anywhere in Pokémon without putting in the hours and levelling up little by little. This landscape has shifted of late with the rise of micro transactions, but thankfully Pokémon has steered clear of this horrible method.

Pokémon teaches strategy and teamwork.

Every message I have heard when watching Pokémon with my son has been about how success comes from patient support and practice with your team. Let’s put aside how trainers enslave these creatures in tiny little balls and stick to the issue that it’s a message that is useful in an increasingly self-centered society.

Pokémon teaches achievement.

Following on from teamwork is the message that success does not come easy. There are multiple times when Ash Ketchum attempts to win a gym badge but comes up short. The message here is always that you may not win the first time, but through training and trying again you will get there. I have said this multiple times to my son and he seems to get it. Any time he is upset about not achieving a goal the first time I ask if Ash got his gym badge on the first try. He usually understands and agrees that not everything in life comes easy and he should try again.

Pokémon in action.

I wanted to make these lessons and challenges more practical and link them to real world growth. Fortunately, the idea of getting a badge for completing a challenge is not something new, so I purchased a set of toy Pokémon badges and drew up a set of challenges with him. Together we worked out the following list:

1) Complete his first set of addition cards (Done);
2) Complete his first set of subtraction cards (Done);
3) Complete his first set of multiplication cards (Done);
4) Read a book on his own (Done);
5) Ride a bike (In Progress);
6) Dive on his own into the Pool;
7) Tie his shoelaces.
8) ???

We have left the last slot open as we could not think of anything at the time but I am sure something will come up.

So far this has been very effective in motivating my son to learn and grow.