October 22, 2025 • 37 mins
🎮 Is your son obsessed with Roblox, Minecraft, or Fortnite?
You’re not alone! In this week’s episode of The Mothers of Boys Survival Guide podcast, Suzy and Cheryl talk with Matt Highland, former teacher and co-founder of Hackingtons.com, about what every mom should know about gaming.
From screen time limits and online safety to turning gaming into real-world coding skills, this episode is packed with insight (and a few laughs).
- Gaming isn’t the enemy — It’s today’s playground for creativity, problem-solving, and social connection.
- Roblox is a platform, not a game — Kids can build, code, and even earn money creating games within it.
- Screen time ≠wasted time — With guidance, gaming can develop real-world skills like coding, teamwork, and strategy.
- Safety starts with connection — Talk openly with your kids, set boundaries, and model healthy tech habits.
- Encourage creators, not just consumers — Help your kids channel their love of gaming into learning, building, and innovating.
👉 Listen now on your favorite podcast platform or at MothersOfBoys.life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Gaming (00:01):
What Every Mom Needs to Know About Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite
Welcome to the MOB, Mothers of Boys podcast. I'm Suzy Shaw, a boy mom of 2. In my book,
Mothers of Boys Survival Guide, I called my boys Earnest and Exuberance. My boys
(00:23):
were yin and yang, and there was very, very little common ground.
But gaming was one of the things that they both loved. Cheryl, how about you?
Well, I have, as you know, I have 4 kids — 3 girls and a son — and they're adult children now,
but gaming was a big part of their lives. Fortunately, I didn't have to rein them in too
(00:46):
much. It was very balanced, but it was definitely something that always brought them and their
friends together, and something that they could do. And also something I felt like my husband
could really enjoy doing with them as well. So it was a very positive activity in my kids' lives.
(01:07):
I read recently that I think 97% of boys are participating in gaming. For better or worse,
these virtual worlds are shaping their creativity, their friendships, and even future careers.
But as many parents are learning, these games come with challenges — from endless screen-time
battles to real safety concerns. Recently, Roblox made national headlines after a class
(01:33):
action lawsuit raised new questions about how the platform manages in-game purchases
and protects young users from predators.So how do we help our boys navigate this
digital frontier safely, wisely, and maybe even productively?
Our guest today is Matt Highland. He is a longtime educator and founder of
(01:56):
Hackingtons.com, where he teaches coding to kids and teens. Matt is also a dad of
three — two boys — so he has lots of street cred in this, not only how to create a game,
but how to parent gaming and kids.Matt, we're so glad you joined us
(02:17):
today to help moms and parents better understand this gaming world. Welcome.
Thank you, Suzy and Cheryl. Super excited to be here.
How long have you been in gaming?
Gaming — so I was a schoolteacher, elementary school teacher, and I did not like technology
(02:37):
because as soon as one computer — they were MacBooks at the time — as soon as one broke,
well, now you have a child that can't participate. So if you have 30 kids in a classroom,
one computer can take you out. So I didn't really like computers until I joined the business world.
And I realized that these million, billion-dollar companies all relied on a couple of computer
(02:59):
programmers. And it's like, wow, those are the guys you want to be in the company.
So that started, and I lived in the Bay Area. The whole Silicon Valley thing just was exploding.
I learned how to code. I really focused on it. And then one day, my son — who was,
I think, 10 years old at the time — said, “You know, Dad, I want to code like you.”
(03:20):
And I looked and thought, oh, there's no code schools. So as a former teacher,
I'm like, hey, this is a perfect fit.So I opened up a code school, and it
got really big. I think at the peak we had 1,200Â students before COVID. Now we're less than that,
but we survived COVID. We went from, I think, 11 locations at that time,
(03:40):
and now we're down to 4 in-person schools. And we do a lot of online teaching as well.
That's fabulous. So Matt, you know, my boys are now 28 and 26, and I feel — and
you probably do too with your older son — that gaming accelerated exponentially during their
(04:00):
childhood. When they started, it was closed educational systems like Leapster. And now,
it’s hard to believe, but Call of Duty came out over 20 years ago.
Both of my boys were big fans of Call of Duty through their teen years and into adulthood.
(04:21):
Let’s begin this conversation by better understanding the tech and gaming landscape.
How have games changed from traditional console games like Call of Duty and Donkey Kong to sandbox
games like Roblox and Minecraft? What do moms really need to understand about the evolution?
(04:43):
Well, I'll speak to NES — Nintendo — that was what I grew up with. You had your cartridge,
you put it in. You really couldn't play more than two hours because your eyes would start
to hurt looking at the television screen. Now that’s changed with modern monitors. You could
theoretically look at a computer screen all day — which a lot of us do. That’s the first big change.
(05:07):
The second is these games aren’t just on a console. Nintendo still exists,
but most kids are playing these games on iPads or whatever device they have. Sometimes we host video
game nights — just bring a device, play with friends. Kids show up with phones, consoles,
even 3D metaverse goggles. They're all playing the same games: Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite.
(05:38):
You mentioned — what was the game your son played?
The violent one? Call of Duty. Oh — Leapster? No, Call of Duty.
Leapster is not violent.
And Halo. Yeah, Halo.
Yeah, so those were the beginnings of social games — play with your friends on a team. But
you had to have the same console — PlayStation or computer. That kind of defined groups:
(06:03):
“We’re PlayStation friends,” “You’re Xbox friends,” — so we can’t really play together.
That stayed true until Roblox came along. And that’s why I think this conversation
will go toward Roblox, because you have one point of entry. Make a Roblox account,
and you can play on any device with anybody — and there are millions of games in the system.
(06:29):
That’s different than Call of Duty, which was one game with one theme.
It’s very intimidating for parents these days. Kids are using devices
at a really early age and playing smaller games. How do parents know
(06:50):
when to start letting their children branch out into other games or put restrictions?
I know there are basic levels for all these games, but how does a parent navigate that?
I just went on vacation with my family, and one of my goals was not to stare at my phone.
(07:16):
And guess who was looking at their phone? My wife. Or my six-year-old was looking at their
device. It’s so consuming. Go anywhere and you’ll see constant interaction with a phone.
So this isn’t just about video games — it’s about screens taking our attention. We’ll talk
(07:43):
about demonizing video games and lawsuits, but look at TikTok — just scroll, scroll, scroll. So
if the conversation is screen time, it’s not just video games to blame. It’s everything — and all of
(08:03):
us. So good luck telling your kids not to look at their phone while you’re sitting there scrolling.
Right. Well, how do we know when to let our kids
play certain games? Are there resources out there for that?
When Fortnite first came out, I made an account. My son even said, “It’s probably valuable.” And
(08:29):
I thought, wow, this is interesting. Everybody’s grouped together. You jump out of a flying school
bus and then try to kill everybody — last one alive wins. It’s Hunger Games. Same storyline.
(08:54):
It’s on you as a parent to give your kids experiences. If you want your
kid to play sports — sign them up. What I’ve noticed is, hands down,
kids today would rather do nothing if you ask them. Even Disneyland — “Do I have to?”
(09:23):
That’s new. Doing “nothing” means staring at their phone.
Right. And it’s not really nothing, right? They’re interacting — with tech,
(09:45):
with friends. For less social kids, it’s a comforting way to have interactions and
build a friend network. But as a parent, you don’t see that, and it’s concerning.
(10:06):
Until you witness it. I can tell you which video game a kid is playing just by how
they’re screaming at their friends. Fortnite gets emotions out of kids who should be running
around. Parents know this — they want to monitor their kids, but if all they’re
(10:35):
doing is screaming at each other in headphones, you just want to lock them in their bedroom.
(10:55):
Something scary, though, is you can’t monitor what people they’re playing
with are saying. You can hear your child, but not what others say on the other end — that’s scary.
(11:17):
Once you’re 14 or 15, the internet really opens up — email, sign-ups,
accounts. The lawsuits aren’t about Roblox itself — they’re happening
(11:45):
off-platform on Discord and Snapchat. Both say “no kids,” but they go anyway.
But the initial interaction was on Roblox with Robux, right? Kids can be enticed by gift cards.
(12:34):
How does that work, and what do you recommend for parents regarding money in those accounts?
Good point. Roblox isn’t a game — it’s a platform. They don’t make games;
(13:00):
users do. Millions of games exist on Roblox, made by others. The average creator age is
25. They make money because people buy things in the game with Robux.
(13:40):
Robux is online currency. Kids use it to buy in-game items. Fortnite does the
same with skins — and it works. I’ve given my kids hundreds of dollars for
skins. We justify it as the price of admission.Robux is huge — about $5 billion sold annually.
(14:29):
Roblox pays creators, roughly a billion dollars this year. Some kids are millionaires from coding.
(15:00):
That’s quite a lemonade stand.
Exactly! I tell kids (15:02):
come to code school, build a game, maybe a million
people play it — maybe it’s a career. It’s definitely better than selling lemonade.
(15:29):
So you’re teaching kids at all levels?
We teach from 8 to 15. At 8, they can sort of type. By 15, if they’re serious,
(15:50):
they can make professional-level products. Coding doesn’t care how old you are — that’s the beauty.
Do you see young kids building pretty interesting games at 8 or 9?
(16:15):
All that matters is desire. Building games is hard — big games take hundreds of people years.
(16:36):
But with Roblox Studio, one person can make a good game in a couple months.
It’s free to make, free to launch, and if it’s popular, it earns money. It’s like
(17:05):
being handed a hill full of gold and a pickaxe.Can an 8-year-old do it? We teach them. It’s hard.
Most try, fail, and quit. The few who stick with it succeed.
(17:42):
I think one of the most important things parents want
is to ensure their kids are safe. How can we do that?
Roblox is serious about safety. If you’re under 13, you must have a kid’s account — no chat,
(18:22):
limited access. Over 13, they now verify identity.But if you just let your kid disappear
(18:44):
into their room, danger always exists.So how do you make it safe? Get involved.
Act interested. Ask why they like Minecraft. What did they build? What’s the “skin” they’re
(19:16):
proud of? You’ll find out amazing things.Your kids are into this because they feel
(19:48):
empowered. So don’t assume it’s bad because they love it — even if it’s in the news.
Or it’s not something they’re doing in person. So you’re saying:
(20:26):
connect with and support your child, like you would if they were playing a sport.
Exactly. Make sure your kids know they can trust you and that you love them. Something bad will
(21:05):
happen — it’s inevitable. They need to come to you and know you’ll love them no matter what.
(21:28):
You don’t want your kid hiding, with the computer as their only friend.
That’s where predators exploit kids.Talk to them about it, especially around
age 13. That’s the danger zone — new freedoms, less supervision.
(22:53):
I called myself a submarine parent because I didn’t have the energy to
be a helicopter parent. I floated beneath the surface, collected intel, pinged locations,
and occasionally had a full breach.One valuable thing was knowing what
(23:17):
my kids valued most — the game, the phone, the car keys. That became part of the reward system.
(23:48):
Is there an age you’d say you let your kids into gaming platforms — tween, younger?
It all ties to friendships. The car keys, the games — it’s about socialization.
(24:12):
Your job as a parent is to help your child connect. If their friends play Minecraft,
(24:45):
you may have to allow it — it’s a social decision.
Are there games parents can play with their kids?
Most have multiplayer options. I’m not very good at games, but on “Fun
(25:17):
Fridays,” I play Roblox with everyone — mostly to let them laugh at how bad I am.
These games don’t have a “point.” The point is to show off your cool hat — bought with Robux — and
have others say, “Cool hat.” So what can you do as a parent? Say, “Cool hat.”
(25:41):
You can also host themed parties — Minecraft cakes, Roblox hangouts — it’s about connection.
(26:32):
I’m curious how you manage tech. I’d see that glow under the door
at 2 a.m. and lose my mind. IÂ used parental controls, set Wi-Fi
(27:31):
timers, even cut data when needed.It worked — my older son, Earnest,
(28:06):
was a big Minecraft guy, built servers, learned coding, and now works in IT and
(28:26):
cybersecurity. So maybe it helped him.What’s your take on managing all that?
(28:46):
You’re talking punishment — and yes, punish your
kids. It shows you care. They shouldn’t be online at 2 a.m. Boundaries matter.
(29:10):
I famously unplugged the computer and threw it out the window once because my son wouldn’t
come to dinner during a Fortnite battle.Get the best router, monitoring system,
(29:37):
parental locks. Smart kids will break it — great, that means they have a future in IT.
(30:33):
Don’t take away gaming just to sit and scroll TikTok yourself. Model what you want.
When I was a teacher, parents would ask, “Why won’t my kid read?” I’d ask,
(31:04):
“What’s the last book you read?” Kids follow your example, not your rules.
(31:53):
Right. Boundaries.
It’s hard. The game companies are fighting for your time and money.
Have you seen any big changes since you started?
Safety is the big one. When I had six students, no issues. But multiply by
(32:41):
thousands — you’ll see everything. Online safety will only get bigger. Parents must research,
learn to lock systems, and teach safe searching.Right. Is there anything we haven’t touched on
(33:13):
that you want to share?The lemonade stand thing. Today,
any kid can download Roblox Studio, make a game for free, and maybe become a millionaire.
(33:38):
AI even helps them code better now.If your kid loves gaming, show them they
(34:05):
can create, not just play. That’s the opportunity.I totally agree. Thank you — great thoughts and
(34:47):
actionable advice throughout this conversation.We ask all guests to share a mantra or guiding
saying — something parents can remember when struggling with this gaming topic.
(35:20):
Yeah. I’ve taught thousands of kids and raised three. It’s hard. Every day can’t
be great. If your goal is to raise a super happy kid every day, that’s unrealistic.
(35:40):
You’ll have days where your kid locks themselves in their room to play,
and you’ll feel terrible — but you’re not. You’re a parent. As long as your kids know you love them
and you create opportunities beyond the habits you don’t like, you’ll be fine.
(36:11):
And remember, the future jobs your kids will have probably don’t exist yet. People once said, “Don’t
play Nintendo, there’s no future.” Those people now design software that runs banks.
(36:41):
Keep an open mind. Parenting is an art. You’ll have good and bad days — just stay connected and
don’t let that door close.Matt, this was a really
interesting conversation. Thank you so much for being here and offering great advice
to all the mothers of boys out there listening.Just to remind everyone, Matt runs an afterschool
(37:08):
coding academy, in-person and online, for kids ages 8 to 16. Visit hackingtons.com.
We’ll also have a link to his site on the Mothers of Boys Survival Guide website.
(37:30):
And thank you all for joining us today. Follow The MOB on Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube, and your favorite podcast platform. Be kind to yourselves, moms, and have a great week.
What Every Mom Needs to Know About Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite
Welcome to the MOB, Mothers of Boys podcast. I'm Suzy Shaw, a boy mom of 2. In my book,
Mothers of Boys Survival Guide, I called my boys Earnest and Exuberance. My boys
(00:23):
were yin and yang, and there was very, very little common ground.
But gaming was one of the things that they both loved. Cheryl, how about you?
Well, I have, as you know, I have 4 kids — 3 girls and a son — and they're adult children now,
but gaming was a big part of their lives. Fortunately, I didn't have to rein them in too
(00:46):
much. It was very balanced, but it was definitely something that always brought them and their
friends together, and something that they could do. And also something I felt like my husband
could really enjoy doing with them as well. So it was a very positive activity in my kids' lives.
(01:07):
I read recently that I think 97% of boys are participating in gaming. For better or worse,
these virtual worlds are shaping their creativity, their friendships, and even future careers.
But as many parents are learning, these games come with challenges — from endless screen-time
battles to real safety concerns. Recently, Roblox made national headlines after a class
(01:33):
action lawsuit raised new questions about how the platform manages in-game purchases
and protects young users from predators.So how do we help our boys navigate this
digital frontier safely, wisely, and maybe even productively?
Our guest today is Matt Highland. He is a longtime educator and founder of
(01:56):
Hackingtons.com, where he teaches coding to kids and teens. Matt is also a dad of
three — two boys — so he has lots of street cred in this, not only how to create a game,
but how to parent gaming and kids.Matt, we're so glad you joined us
(02:17):
today to help moms and parents better understand this gaming world. Welcome.
Thank you, Suzy and Cheryl. Super excited to be here.
How long have you been in gaming?
Gaming — so I was a schoolteacher, elementary school teacher, and I did not like technology
(02:37):
because as soon as one computer — they were MacBooks at the time — as soon as one broke,
well, now you have a child that can't participate. So if you have 30 kids in a classroom,
one computer can take you out. So I didn't really like computers until I joined the business world.
And I realized that these million, billion-dollar companies all relied on a couple of computer
(02:59):
programmers. And it's like, wow, those are the guys you want to be in the company.
So that started, and I lived in the Bay Area. The whole Silicon Valley thing just was exploding.
I learned how to code. I really focused on it. And then one day, my son — who was,
I think, 10 years old at the time — said, “You know, Dad, I want to code like you.”
(03:20):
And I looked and thought, oh, there's no code schools. So as a former teacher,
I'm like, hey, this is a perfect fit.So I opened up a code school, and it
got really big. I think at the peak we had 1,200Â students before COVID. Now we're less than that,
but we survived COVID. We went from, I think, 11 locations at that time,
(03:40):
and now we're down to 4 in-person schools. And we do a lot of online teaching as well.
That's fabulous. So Matt, you know, my boys are now 28 and 26, and I feel — and
you probably do too with your older son — that gaming accelerated exponentially during their
(04:00):
childhood. When they started, it was closed educational systems like Leapster. And now,
it’s hard to believe, but Call of Duty came out over 20 years ago.
Both of my boys were big fans of Call of Duty through their teen years and into adulthood.
(04:21):
Let’s begin this conversation by better understanding the tech and gaming landscape.
How have games changed from traditional console games like Call of Duty and Donkey Kong to sandbox
games like Roblox and Minecraft? What do moms really need to understand about the evolution?
(04:43):
Well, I'll speak to NES — Nintendo — that was what I grew up with. You had your cartridge,
you put it in. You really couldn't play more than two hours because your eyes would start
to hurt looking at the television screen. Now that’s changed with modern monitors. You could
theoretically look at a computer screen all day — which a lot of us do. That’s the first big change.
(05:07):
The second is these games aren’t just on a console. Nintendo still exists,
but most kids are playing these games on iPads or whatever device they have. Sometimes we host video
game nights — just bring a device, play with friends. Kids show up with phones, consoles,
even 3D metaverse goggles. They're all playing the same games: Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite.
(05:38):
You mentioned — what was the game your son played?
The violent one? Call of Duty. Oh — Leapster? No, Call of Duty.
Leapster is not violent.
And Halo. Yeah, Halo.
Yeah, so those were the beginnings of social games — play with your friends on a team. But
you had to have the same console — PlayStation or computer. That kind of defined groups:
(06:03):
“We’re PlayStation friends,” “You’re Xbox friends,” — so we can’t really play together.
That stayed true until Roblox came along. And that’s why I think this conversation
will go toward Roblox, because you have one point of entry. Make a Roblox account,
and you can play on any device with anybody — and there are millions of games in the system.
(06:29):
That’s different than Call of Duty, which was one game with one theme.
It’s very intimidating for parents these days. Kids are using devices
at a really early age and playing smaller games. How do parents know
(06:50):
when to start letting their children branch out into other games or put restrictions?
I know there are basic levels for all these games, but how does a parent navigate that?
I just went on vacation with my family, and one of my goals was not to stare at my phone.
(07:16):
And guess who was looking at their phone? My wife. Or my six-year-old was looking at their
device. It’s so consuming. Go anywhere and you’ll see constant interaction with a phone.
So this isn’t just about video games — it’s about screens taking our attention. We’ll talk
(07:43):
about demonizing video games and lawsuits, but look at TikTok — just scroll, scroll, scroll. So
if the conversation is screen time, it’s not just video games to blame. It’s everything — and all of
(08:03):
us. So good luck telling your kids not to look at their phone while you’re sitting there scrolling.
Right. Well, how do we know when to let our kids
play certain games? Are there resources out there for that?
When Fortnite first came out, I made an account. My son even said, “It’s probably valuable.” And
(08:29):
I thought, wow, this is interesting. Everybody’s grouped together. You jump out of a flying school
bus and then try to kill everybody — last one alive wins. It’s Hunger Games. Same storyline.
(08:54):
It’s on you as a parent to give your kids experiences. If you want your
kid to play sports — sign them up. What I’ve noticed is, hands down,
kids today would rather do nothing if you ask them. Even Disneyland — “Do I have to?”
(09:23):
That’s new. Doing “nothing” means staring at their phone.
Right. And it’s not really nothing, right? They’re interacting — with tech,
(09:45):
with friends. For less social kids, it’s a comforting way to have interactions and
build a friend network. But as a parent, you don’t see that, and it’s concerning.
(10:06):
Until you witness it. I can tell you which video game a kid is playing just by how
they’re screaming at their friends. Fortnite gets emotions out of kids who should be running
around. Parents know this — they want to monitor their kids, but if all they’re
(10:35):
doing is screaming at each other in headphones, you just want to lock them in their bedroom.
(10:55):
Something scary, though, is you can’t monitor what people they’re playing
with are saying. You can hear your child, but not what others say on the other end — that’s scary.
(11:17):
Once you’re 14 or 15, the internet really opens up — email, sign-ups,
accounts. The lawsuits aren’t about Roblox itself — they’re happening
(11:45):
off-platform on Discord and Snapchat. Both say “no kids,” but they go anyway.
But the initial interaction was on Roblox with Robux, right? Kids can be enticed by gift cards.
(12:34):
How does that work, and what do you recommend for parents regarding money in those accounts?
Good point. Roblox isn’t a game — it’s a platform. They don’t make games;
(13:00):
users do. Millions of games exist on Roblox, made by others. The average creator age is
25. They make money because people buy things in the game with Robux.
(13:40):
Robux is online currency. Kids use it to buy in-game items. Fortnite does the
same with skins — and it works. I’ve given my kids hundreds of dollars for
skins. We justify it as the price of admission.Robux is huge — about $5 billion sold annually.
(14:29):
Roblox pays creators, roughly a billion dollars this year. Some kids are millionaires from coding.
(15:00):
That’s quite a lemonade stand.
Exactly! I tell kids (15:02):
come to code school, build a game, maybe a million
people play it — maybe it’s a career. It’s definitely better than selling lemonade.
(15:29):
So you’re teaching kids at all levels?
We teach from 8 to 15. At 8, they can sort of type. By 15, if they’re serious,
(15:50):
they can make professional-level products. Coding doesn’t care how old you are — that’s the beauty.
Do you see young kids building pretty interesting games at 8 or 9?
(16:15):
All that matters is desire. Building games is hard — big games take hundreds of people years.
(16:36):
But with Roblox Studio, one person can make a good game in a couple months.
It’s free to make, free to launch, and if it’s popular, it earns money. It’s like
(17:05):
being handed a hill full of gold and a pickaxe.Can an 8-year-old do it? We teach them. It’s hard.
Most try, fail, and quit. The few who stick with it succeed.
(17:42):
I think one of the most important things parents want
is to ensure their kids are safe. How can we do that?
Roblox is serious about safety. If you’re under 13, you must have a kid’s account — no chat,
(18:22):
limited access. Over 13, they now verify identity.But if you just let your kid disappear
(18:44):
into their room, danger always exists.So how do you make it safe? Get involved.
Act interested. Ask why they like Minecraft. What did they build? What’s the “skin” they’re
(19:16):
proud of? You’ll find out amazing things.Your kids are into this because they feel
(19:48):
empowered. So don’t assume it’s bad because they love it — even if it’s in the news.
Or it’s not something they’re doing in person. So you’re saying:
(20:26):
connect with and support your child, like you would if they were playing a sport.
Exactly. Make sure your kids know they can trust you and that you love them. Something bad will
(21:05):
happen — it’s inevitable. They need to come to you and know you’ll love them no matter what.
(21:28):
You don’t want your kid hiding, with the computer as their only friend.
That’s where predators exploit kids.Talk to them about it, especially around
age 13. That’s the danger zone — new freedoms, less supervision.
(22:53):
I called myself a submarine parent because I didn’t have the energy to
be a helicopter parent. I floated beneath the surface, collected intel, pinged locations,
and occasionally had a full breach.One valuable thing was knowing what
(23:17):
my kids valued most — the game, the phone, the car keys. That became part of the reward system.
(23:48):
Is there an age you’d say you let your kids into gaming platforms — tween, younger?
It all ties to friendships. The car keys, the games — it’s about socialization.
(24:12):
Your job as a parent is to help your child connect. If their friends play Minecraft,
(24:45):
you may have to allow it — it’s a social decision.
Are there games parents can play with their kids?
Most have multiplayer options. I’m not very good at games, but on “Fun
(25:17):
Fridays,” I play Roblox with everyone — mostly to let them laugh at how bad I am.
These games don’t have a “point.” The point is to show off your cool hat — bought with Robux — and
have others say, “Cool hat.” So what can you do as a parent? Say, “Cool hat.”
(25:41):
You can also host themed parties — Minecraft cakes, Roblox hangouts — it’s about connection.
(26:32):
I’m curious how you manage tech. I’d see that glow under the door
at 2 a.m. and lose my mind. IÂ used parental controls, set Wi-Fi
(27:31):
timers, even cut data when needed.It worked — my older son, Earnest,
(28:06):
was a big Minecraft guy, built servers, learned coding, and now works in IT and
(28:26):
cybersecurity. So maybe it helped him.What’s your take on managing all that?
(28:46):
You’re talking punishment — and yes, punish your
kids. It shows you care. They shouldn’t be online at 2 a.m. Boundaries matter.
(29:10):
I famously unplugged the computer and threw it out the window once because my son wouldn’t
come to dinner during a Fortnite battle.Get the best router, monitoring system,
(29:37):
parental locks. Smart kids will break it — great, that means they have a future in IT.
(30:33):
Don’t take away gaming just to sit and scroll TikTok yourself. Model what you want.
When I was a teacher, parents would ask, “Why won’t my kid read?” I’d ask,
(31:04):
“What’s the last book you read?” Kids follow your example, not your rules.
(31:53):
Right. Boundaries.
It’s hard. The game companies are fighting for your time and money.
Have you seen any big changes since you started?
Safety is the big one. When I had six students, no issues. But multiply by
(32:41):
thousands — you’ll see everything. Online safety will only get bigger. Parents must research,
learn to lock systems, and teach safe searching.Right. Is there anything we haven’t touched on
(33:13):
that you want to share?The lemonade stand thing. Today,
any kid can download Roblox Studio, make a game for free, and maybe become a millionaire.
(33:38):
AI even helps them code better now.If your kid loves gaming, show them they
(34:05):
can create, not just play. That’s the opportunity.I totally agree. Thank you — great thoughts and
(34:47):
actionable advice throughout this conversation.We ask all guests to share a mantra or guiding
saying — something parents can remember when struggling with this gaming topic.
(35:20):
Yeah. I’ve taught thousands of kids and raised three. It’s hard. Every day can’t
be great. If your goal is to raise a super happy kid every day, that’s unrealistic.
(35:40):
You’ll have days where your kid locks themselves in their room to play,
and you’ll feel terrible — but you’re not. You’re a parent. As long as your kids know you love them
and you create opportunities beyond the habits you don’t like, you’ll be fine.
(36:11):
And remember, the future jobs your kids will have probably don’t exist yet. People once said, “Don’t
play Nintendo, there’s no future.” Those people now design software that runs banks.
(36:41):
Keep an open mind. Parenting is an art. You’ll have good and bad days — just stay connected and
don’t let that door close.Matt, this was a really
interesting conversation. Thank you so much for being here and offering great advice
to all the mothers of boys out there listening.Just to remind everyone, Matt runs an afterschool
(37:08):
coding academy, in-person and online, for kids ages 8 to 16. Visit hackingtons.com.
We’ll also have a link to his site on the Mothers of Boys Survival Guide website.
(37:30):
And thank you all for joining us today. Follow The MOB on Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube, and your favorite podcast platform. Be kind to yourselves, moms, and have a great week.
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