From the previous post “Part 1: Passion & Purpose with Daddy Droyd,” you can see where Passion starts to open Possibilities directed by Purpose.  In this entry we will explore some of those Possibilities and Purposes.

Which brings us to YouTube.

What will my kids do with the Internet, and YouTube specifically?  Is it a passive entertainment or education vehicle?  Or is it a broadcast and communication platform for their voice and passions?  Or is it an entrepreneurial global economic engine?  Are they consuming content or creating it?  What skills can they learn as a creator of Video Game YouTube shows?  What can they learn just by watching it?  Are we just creating more “internet clutter” or is there a Purpose behind what they share on the internet?

These were the questions rattling around in my head every time my kids and I turned to YouTube to learn something (e.g. how do pistons work?) or to be entertained (e.g. what silly thing did Stampy or Dan TDM do today in Minecraft? (@StampyLongNose, @DanTDM)).  It was these questions that drove me to launch Reid TDR.

For those that think a YouTube Video Game Channel is cute or perhaps a waste of time in child development, consider the skillset required to create a substantive channel:

Some of the skills I have had to develop for creating ReidTDR’s Video Game YouTube Channel include:

• Music composition
• Recording engineering
• Video editing
• Video production
• Hardware design/setup/cabling
• Licensing and legal compliance
• Maintenance and care of electronics and data storage
• Computer space management
• Data management
• Social Media management
• Project management
• Engaging people with words (the audience, collaborators, potential viewers, Reid, my wife, etc)
• Improving my speaking
• Creating a story arc / Narrative design
• Search engine optimization
• Advertising
• Graphic editing
• Animation
• Self-analysis and self-critique
• Consistency and determination
• Habit development
• Prioritization
• Time management
• Expectation setting (for myself, Reid, my family, collaborators, viewers, etc)
• Problem solving / Trouble shooting
• Process design
• Entrepreneurship
• Creativity
• Telling jokes (usually badly!)
• Laughing and being flexible in the moment
• Playing a character
• Developing a persona
• Enrolling others in the project
• Learning about early childhood education
• Networking with others
• Negotiation
• Experimenting with content structures (2 minutes? 20 minutes? Tutorials? Adventures? Etc)
• And much much more

 

I think I have just scratched the surface.

The Video Game world and YouTube creators seem to be both expanding, fragmenting, and redirecting at a rapid rate, so many of these new learnings will simply be a starting point for continued evolution and development.  Also, many of these technical skills will be transferring to my sons as they get older and can take over some of the editing, data management, story design, game design, social media management, etc.

In speaking with experts in child education, I have also been told that a child’s relationship with a parent in areas of trust, communication, and openness are mostly developed by the age of 6.

WHAT?!

You mean if I don’t have a strong bond of trust and communication with my kids before they turn 6, that there’s no hope for open communication with them as they grow and mature?

No. That’s probably not what it means.

Yet, knowing that the FOUNDATION of that relationship has crystalized by age 6 means I’ve got to be involved *in depth* with my kids before age 6.  Regular Video Gaming sessions can be one way to develop that bond, just like playing catch, playing chess, playing duets, reading books together, going on hikes, building with legos, making pillow forts, etc.

Why YouTube?  Well YouTube is where my family (and sons) learned details about Minecraft.  And pistons.  And airplanes.  And trains.  And trombones.  And cellos.   And beatboxing.  And so much more…

And very quickly thereafter, my wife and I learned the pitfalls of not monitoring Minecraft videos (i.e. swearing, age-inappropriate topics, etc).  It is also where we learned how to do basic things in Minecraft by watching videos of others playing, tutorials demonstrating specific things, and entertaining shows in the Minecraft world.  Those experiences stimulated us to get the game, learn how to play and build, try new things beyond what we’d seen in the videos, and experiment.  Those experiences also made me wonder “how on earth did that badly recorded video with poor grammar and horrible sound quality on [insert topic here] get 500,000 views?!”

It is also where I wondered, “Why are we spending time watching someone ‘play’ silly games in a fake world doing things of no real consequence?  Where is the applicable educational value for real life?  Where is the life lesson in this show?  Or is this all just brain candy?”  And, after jolting for the off button more times than I’d like to admit, it is why the top search term for Reid TDR’s channel is “Minecraft videos for kids with no bad words.”

But all that is a topic for another blog.

Here’s Reid TDR’s YouTube Channel and Facebook Page

–Daddy Droyd   (@daddydroyd on twitter)

What are your thoughts?  Leave a comment below.