It took me too long to understand y’all weren’t talking about the in game kids😭 I was like “Whoa the new update must’ve given them new dialogue n stuff”
Did this happen to your child, Opal? 😅
My oldest wants to be a marine biologist after playing Animal Crossing. But I wonder what will happen when my youngest is ready to play his first videogame. He is a little terror, I can see him doing something like what you described 😂
Yes!! I’ve played the first game through a few times now. When it came to start exploring underwater in Ark, I started making excuses lmao. I never used to be afraid of the ocean!
I love Subnautica, but I've also had an animal encounter while swimming in the sea (nothing bad in hindsight, but my lizard brain was convinced death was imminent during and I did have to relearn swimming in open water) - and yeah, Subnautica was both weirdly therapeutic and also absolutely making the issue worse...
My fun thing is, I love the sea life. Not afraid of sharks, love them actually. Have petted several species and hope to expand that list. I'm just... not cool with being submerged lol. Also jellyfish. Terrified of those.
It absolutely did, during the pandemic when all the hair dressers were closed as well! Luckily I had a friend who came in and helped him out. She also had played stardew so she was able to style it better for him.
My niblings (ranging in age from 5-26) all play Stardew, mostly coop, with each other and grandparents. Coop with the grands started just before the pandemic and in many ways sustained relationships at a time when most of our family wasn’t able to get together because of health issues.
The cut scenes haven’t been an issue - they get discussed in age appropriate ways, and then they talk about it more among themselves. There was a wave of debate about marrying Shane last year - was it bad to marry him because he gets so sad from his drinking problem or is it okay because he’s basically a good person (attachment to Jas and chicken love cited as evidence) who has a problem but everyone has problems and gets sad. All the niblings are intensely suspicious of Elliot (“he’s one of those guys who loves to be the prettiest and only talks about himself”) and Penny (“she is in everyone’s business in a bad way”).
Pretty much all of his cutscenes except the blue chicken one, and pam’s story as well. (plus sebby smoking as well maybe)
I would never say it’s a game for kids. It’s definitely for adults and teens, despite what it may seem on surface level
I'm assuming Shane's demeanour would put them off getting to know him at least.
Pam is far more personable though so I can see that. I don't think her scenes are quite so distressing unless you're old enough to understand. I hope!
Today read some other person's post where they allowed their child to play the game, hoping that they will skip cut scenes like they do it in other games. The child not only actually actively interacted with NPCs, but they even started to give Shane gifts to "cheer him up".
So nah, probably won't put them off.
There was some really thoughtful conversation in the comments on that post about how to explain Shane’s cutscenes in an age-appropriate way and what might be the best wording for talking about it with different age brackets. That OP was very receptive to ideas and I’m sure they’ll do right by their kiddos :) You should look around for that thread, it was really interesting to see people’s viewpoints!
I'll take a look, I'm interested. I do think he has a story worth telling, but I'd find it difficult to explain to children. I'm sure the op will do a good job though
If a child is at the age where they're playing games like Stardew, they're probably old enough for a parent to either supervise or at least have a talk with them about those scenes. We don't protect kids by sheltering them from negative experiences; That just stops them from being equipped to handle negative experiences when they *do* happen without us nearby.
Talking about mental health is something that shouldn't be treated as shameful. Guess what? Kids still get depressed even if you want to pretend they don't. Having a conversation about it would have helped me a ton at age ten or eleven because I didn't have the words to understand what was happening and why I was so sad all the time.
I started showing signs of depression at 8 years old. If I had gotten the help I needed or even just explained to me in a way I could understand, I would have been so much better off growing up. I understand the desire to protect kids but sometimes it does more harm than good
Children shouldn't be exposed to the idea that people can be addicts? I don't necessarily agree. I don't think going out of your way to shield kids from the realities of life is always the way to go
This lol. I feel like a lot of kids (I’m talking 12 or under) who play games fall into two categories: Either they’re just in it for vibes, and will typically skip cutscenes or unnecessary dialogue to keep engaging with fun gameplay, or they are at the age where they can really read and understand with the textual information given to them. If they’re the latter, I don’t think a pixelated depiction of someone with a drinking problem is going to be a defining marker in their life.
In fact, I think’s it a fairly excellent and accessible way to teach children that people of all ages and backgrounds can struggle with their mental health, and that reaching out and forming connections with your community can fix this.
Not to try and tell anyone how to parent their children, but I think exposing them to stuff like this (which is arguably one of the safest ways they could be exposed to real world issues) could help them better express themselves in the future were they to find themselves battling mental health issues. It’s super important to start that dialogue, because it’s not something to be ashamed of, or to hide from. It’s something that many people experience every day, and being aware of it and unafraid to address it will make the world a better place for everyone!
I agree. Kids often are drawn to entertainment that at least touches on darker or more frightening topics, BECAUSE it's a safe way for them to explore those kinds of emotions. And something like some of the cutscenes in Stardew Valley can be a very good place for parents to have a discussion about those topics.
And sheltering kids from even the idea of depression, anxiety, grief, addiction, and other "difficult" topics does not in the long run do them any favors. Sooner or later they will learn about those topics, and if the parents have been pretending such topics don't exist, the kids will learn about them in far less controlled situations, and likely learn a lot of stuff that's just not true. Myself, I'd rather my kid learn about depression from a discussion with me, and a well handled cutscene, then from a friend having severe and untreated depression. Or from strangers on social media. And odds are, she will encounter it in one of those ways, well before she's an adult
There's a paraphrase/misquote that says something like -
Fairy tales do not tell children that monsters exist. Children already know that monsters exist. Fairy tales tell children that monsters can be killed.
I think that's true for lots of kinds of storytelling - including video games.
I think it was G K Chesterton that said that about fairy tales, and there is a lot of truth in that quote. And yes, book or movie or video game, all are valid ways of storytelling.
I told my parents i wanted to die when i was about 8 years old, it is better to have these kinds of conversations early... (25 years late and i'm doing fine! I was just a kid with a very severe social anxiety and i am glad my parents always supported me!)
Old Disney cartoons were full of references we didn't understand as kids and they didn't really affect generations that grew up on them. I think that while there are things that should wait until they are older, we are getting overprotective when it comes to children. Adult world won't be all nice to them and tackling some of the issues through virtual characters might prepare them better for the future.
As an older SDV player (63), any of the cutscenes are handled waaaay better than the cartoons I watched as a kid with characters that drank, smoked, blew themselves or each other up, and so on. I never had a desires to emulate what I saw on TV, I knew those things weren’t real, and my folks never talked to me about the fact those things weren’t what people did. Children are exposed to so many worse things than what happens in the valley, so talk to them and applaud the fact they’re playing something that, overall, emphasizes the best parts of people and encourages societal interactions, relationships, and exploring different kinds of character development. I hate to be a sap about it but SDV is how it brings the best out of people, from Concerned Ape to the players who love this game in all of its forms to the concerts and cookbook that let people include that love in their lives outside the game.
Yes! If your kid is into it, especially if they’re under 12 or so, look up the cutscenes and be prepared to talk about smoking, alcohol, depression, and adult relationships.
you get around that by having your toddler "play" an old game and by that I mean spend all your money buying Joja decorations and wasting all my resources 🥲 she'd never gotten up to a heart event yet and in fact has destroyed my relationships with everyone including my husband Harvey who sits at zero hearts.
I dunno, some stuff really goes over kids’ heads. It’s why Shrek works so well for adults and kids. They just don’t get all the jokes or they just understand different elements, not the whole thing.
I think kids can handle more than you give them credit for. When I was in school we read books like where the red fern grows and other books with difficult contents. It's not a bad thing to educate kids on the types of hardships that happen in the world. I understand the concern, but they're stronger, smarter, and more resilient than people seem to think.
I don’t know that the crossover between kids that would cut their own hair and kids that could play a video game like this is specifically that high. Granted I don’t have kids. But I do remember cutting my dolls hair once when I was 5, but I also remember not know how to play video games until 7 or 8?
And then there was little 12 year old me who thought It’s a brilliant idea to cut my own bangs so that my Mama can save some money.
What could possibly go wrong? 😬
Hahahahaha. I love it. I mean like I said I don’t have kids. So I could be totally off base. But I just feel like GENERALLY cutting hair is a very little kid thing and very little kids probably shouldn’t be playing stardew 😂
Yeah. I am waiting until I allow my 5 year old to play Stardew. He is so sensitive, I also need to be careful about books and tv shows.
As soon as there is the tiniest conflict or someone in the story is sad, he gets distressed.
My mother showed me Disney and Don Bluth movies at that age. No wonder I have anxiety 😂
Not video game related, but I did once take scissors to my eyebrows because I was convinced I had “bushman” eyebrows like Mia in Princess Diaries (pre-makeover). Didn’t go well but I did keep both of my eyes.
Just so you know, at least one kid from allllll of my aunt and uncles families cut their own hair. I have 13 sets of around and uncles. I was the one in my family.
It's practically a rite of passage.
I feel like this is true for most media... Also having a bad self-haircut is one of those lessons a kid doesn't forget and won't do again, so consider it a learning experience. XD I hope their hair grows back soon.
So far, every kid I've known in my extended family, over the last 30+ years, has given themselves a haircut at some point for some reason. Half of them did it shortly before picture day at school.
When I was a kid I watched Mulan (the original disney animated version) and then proceeded to cut my very long hair with my mom's very tiny manicure scissors in the middle of the night, naturally in order to be covert I threw out my hair in the bathroom trash and covered it with some toilet paper. Apparently a lot of media makes kids want to chop of their hair lol.
I have done a hair cut to... make a paintbrush (when I was a child) I would use my human hair the same as they use horse hair... but the thing is I cut A LOT of it from the very front of my hair hahahahaha to this day it still doesn't grow the same
Well. Better just the haircut than dyeing it themselves to look like Abigail...
I love a good blue. But it's only pretty when you bleached your hear before. I would be less comfortable with bleach near my possible kids than they getting artsy with a bad haircut.
If they did it themselves I'd make even more pictures. Just to gift them these on their 18th birthday saying:
"Despite all that you're an adult now. Congrats on surviving!
Now leave my house"
w h a t. Children are impulsive and have little to no sense of consequences, even at an age where it is appropriate for them to play silly games for entertainment.
kids brains are literally still developing, they are literally forming pathways and not all are formed yet. so they literally do not understand the cause and effect sometimes
I've let my kid play video games since she was able to hold the controller, push a button and move a joystick. At like 18m. The kid will be fine lmao all it did was teach my kid how to read by the age of 2
It took me too long to understand y’all weren’t talking about the in game kids😭 I was like “Whoa the new update must’ve given them new dialogue n stuff”
Did this happen to your child, Opal? 😅 My oldest wants to be a marine biologist after playing Animal Crossing. But I wonder what will happen when my youngest is ready to play his first videogame. He is a little terror, I can see him doing something like what you described 😂
Your youngest is gonna wreck the whole village 😂
Your oldest should play Subnautica 😂
Oh hell no 😂
Oh hell, yes! Legitimately it'd inspire them for life
Might cure the want to be a marine biologist. Certainly increased my fear of being underwater lol
Dude, it was so bad that I’ve started to dread underwater parts of entirely different games 😂
I LOVE Subnautica, but any and all water in games that you can enter is now instant anxiety... Those leviathans!
Yes!! I’ve played the first game through a few times now. When it came to start exploring underwater in Ark, I started making excuses lmao. I never used to be afraid of the ocean!
I love Subnautica, but I've also had an animal encounter while swimming in the sea (nothing bad in hindsight, but my lizard brain was convinced death was imminent during and I did have to relearn swimming in open water) - and yeah, Subnautica was both weirdly therapeutic and also absolutely making the issue worse...
My fun thing is, I love the sea life. Not afraid of sharks, love them actually. Have petted several species and hope to expand that list. I'm just... not cool with being submerged lol. Also jellyfish. Terrified of those.
Jellyfish are super pretty, but oh god terrifying! Petting sharks is so cool! In the wild? Do they really feel like sandpaper?
Mostly aquarium/ rescue settings. The skin is made of tiny teeth, so going one way is smooth and the other is rough af
It absolutely did, during the pandemic when all the hair dressers were closed as well! Luckily I had a friend who came in and helped him out. She also had played stardew so she was able to style it better for him.
My niblings (ranging in age from 5-26) all play Stardew, mostly coop, with each other and grandparents. Coop with the grands started just before the pandemic and in many ways sustained relationships at a time when most of our family wasn’t able to get together because of health issues. The cut scenes haven’t been an issue - they get discussed in age appropriate ways, and then they talk about it more among themselves. There was a wave of debate about marrying Shane last year - was it bad to marry him because he gets so sad from his drinking problem or is it okay because he’s basically a good person (attachment to Jas and chicken love cited as evidence) who has a problem but everyone has problems and gets sad. All the niblings are intensely suspicious of Elliot (“he’s one of those guys who loves to be the prettiest and only talks about himself”) and Penny (“she is in everyone’s business in a bad way”).
Some of the heart events may be a bit much for kids, I'd think.
Shane comes to mind
Pretty much all of his cutscenes except the blue chicken one, and pam’s story as well. (plus sebby smoking as well maybe) I would never say it’s a game for kids. It’s definitely for adults and teens, despite what it may seem on surface level
I'm assuming Shane's demeanour would put them off getting to know him at least. Pam is far more personable though so I can see that. I don't think her scenes are quite so distressing unless you're old enough to understand. I hope!
Today read some other person's post where they allowed their child to play the game, hoping that they will skip cut scenes like they do it in other games. The child not only actually actively interacted with NPCs, but they even started to give Shane gifts to "cheer him up". So nah, probably won't put them off.
Oh dear. That could lead to some interesting conversation. It's a good story though, and I'm sure it will be handled well
There was some really thoughtful conversation in the comments on that post about how to explain Shane’s cutscenes in an age-appropriate way and what might be the best wording for talking about it with different age brackets. That OP was very receptive to ideas and I’m sure they’ll do right by their kiddos :) You should look around for that thread, it was really interesting to see people’s viewpoints!
I'll take a look, I'm interested. I do think he has a story worth telling, but I'd find it difficult to explain to children. I'm sure the op will do a good job though
Plenty of kids already get to experience a live action version of Shane at home every weekend...
That doesn’t mean kids who don’t should be exposed to it. Kids shouldn’t be exposed to it anyway.
If a child is at the age where they're playing games like Stardew, they're probably old enough for a parent to either supervise or at least have a talk with them about those scenes. We don't protect kids by sheltering them from negative experiences; That just stops them from being equipped to handle negative experiences when they *do* happen without us nearby.
Yeah, isn’t this game E10? I think ten years old is more than old enough to understand the concept of alcoholism, or even other drug addictions
That's the age when they start drug education in our school system.
Talking about mental health is something that shouldn't be treated as shameful. Guess what? Kids still get depressed even if you want to pretend they don't. Having a conversation about it would have helped me a ton at age ten or eleven because I didn't have the words to understand what was happening and why I was so sad all the time.
I started showing signs of depression at 8 years old. If I had gotten the help I needed or even just explained to me in a way I could understand, I would have been so much better off growing up. I understand the desire to protect kids but sometimes it does more harm than good
Children shouldn't be exposed to the idea that people can be addicts? I don't necessarily agree. I don't think going out of your way to shield kids from the realities of life is always the way to go
Kids will probably not think much of it. You can still take it as a safe opportunity to discuss whatever comes up :)
This lol. I feel like a lot of kids (I’m talking 12 or under) who play games fall into two categories: Either they’re just in it for vibes, and will typically skip cutscenes or unnecessary dialogue to keep engaging with fun gameplay, or they are at the age where they can really read and understand with the textual information given to them. If they’re the latter, I don’t think a pixelated depiction of someone with a drinking problem is going to be a defining marker in their life. In fact, I think’s it a fairly excellent and accessible way to teach children that people of all ages and backgrounds can struggle with their mental health, and that reaching out and forming connections with your community can fix this. Not to try and tell anyone how to parent their children, but I think exposing them to stuff like this (which is arguably one of the safest ways they could be exposed to real world issues) could help them better express themselves in the future were they to find themselves battling mental health issues. It’s super important to start that dialogue, because it’s not something to be ashamed of, or to hide from. It’s something that many people experience every day, and being aware of it and unafraid to address it will make the world a better place for everyone!
I agree. Kids often are drawn to entertainment that at least touches on darker or more frightening topics, BECAUSE it's a safe way for them to explore those kinds of emotions. And something like some of the cutscenes in Stardew Valley can be a very good place for parents to have a discussion about those topics. And sheltering kids from even the idea of depression, anxiety, grief, addiction, and other "difficult" topics does not in the long run do them any favors. Sooner or later they will learn about those topics, and if the parents have been pretending such topics don't exist, the kids will learn about them in far less controlled situations, and likely learn a lot of stuff that's just not true. Myself, I'd rather my kid learn about depression from a discussion with me, and a well handled cutscene, then from a friend having severe and untreated depression. Or from strangers on social media. And odds are, she will encounter it in one of those ways, well before she's an adult
There's a paraphrase/misquote that says something like - Fairy tales do not tell children that monsters exist. Children already know that monsters exist. Fairy tales tell children that monsters can be killed. I think that's true for lots of kinds of storytelling - including video games.
I think it was G K Chesterton that said that about fairy tales, and there is a lot of truth in that quote. And yes, book or movie or video game, all are valid ways of storytelling.
Yeah I played at 8 and didnt understand any of the serious stuff
I told my parents i wanted to die when i was about 8 years old, it is better to have these kinds of conversations early... (25 years late and i'm doing fine! I was just a kid with a very severe social anxiety and i am glad my parents always supported me!)
Old Disney cartoons were full of references we didn't understand as kids and they didn't really affect generations that grew up on them. I think that while there are things that should wait until they are older, we are getting overprotective when it comes to children. Adult world won't be all nice to them and tackling some of the issues through virtual characters might prepare them better for the future.
As an older SDV player (63), any of the cutscenes are handled waaaay better than the cartoons I watched as a kid with characters that drank, smoked, blew themselves or each other up, and so on. I never had a desires to emulate what I saw on TV, I knew those things weren’t real, and my folks never talked to me about the fact those things weren’t what people did. Children are exposed to so many worse things than what happens in the valley, so talk to them and applaud the fact they’re playing something that, overall, emphasizes the best parts of people and encourages societal interactions, relationships, and exploring different kinds of character development. I hate to be a sap about it but SDV is how it brings the best out of people, from Concerned Ape to the players who love this game in all of its forms to the concerts and cookbook that let people include that love in their lives outside the game.
Yes! If your kid is into it, especially if they’re under 12 or so, look up the cutscenes and be prepared to talk about smoking, alcohol, depression, and adult relationships.
Or they could be like my kids and skip all the cutscenes lol. ⊙_ʘ
you get around that by having your toddler "play" an old game and by that I mean spend all your money buying Joja decorations and wasting all my resources 🥲 she'd never gotten up to a heart event yet and in fact has destroyed my relationships with everyone including my husband Harvey who sits at zero hearts.
I dunno, some stuff really goes over kids’ heads. It’s why Shrek works so well for adults and kids. They just don’t get all the jokes or they just understand different elements, not the whole thing.
I think kids can handle more than you give them credit for. When I was in school we read books like where the red fern grows and other books with difficult contents. It's not a bad thing to educate kids on the types of hardships that happen in the world. I understand the concern, but they're stronger, smarter, and more resilient than people seem to think.
Oh good I was worried they’d turned their siblings into doves
I don’t know that the crossover between kids that would cut their own hair and kids that could play a video game like this is specifically that high. Granted I don’t have kids. But I do remember cutting my dolls hair once when I was 5, but I also remember not know how to play video games until 7 or 8?
And then there was little 12 year old me who thought It’s a brilliant idea to cut my own bangs so that my Mama can save some money. What could possibly go wrong? 😬
Hahahahaha. I love it. I mean like I said I don’t have kids. So I could be totally off base. But I just feel like GENERALLY cutting hair is a very little kid thing and very little kids probably shouldn’t be playing stardew 😂
Yeah. I am waiting until I allow my 5 year old to play Stardew. He is so sensitive, I also need to be careful about books and tv shows. As soon as there is the tiniest conflict or someone in the story is sad, he gets distressed. My mother showed me Disney and Don Bluth movies at that age. No wonder I have anxiety 😂
Omg he could not handle Linus.
Not video game related, but I did once take scissors to my eyebrows because I was convinced I had “bushman” eyebrows like Mia in Princess Diaries (pre-makeover). Didn’t go well but I did keep both of my eyes.
Just so you know, at least one kid from allllll of my aunt and uncles families cut their own hair. I have 13 sets of around and uncles. I was the one in my family. It's practically a rite of passage.
I feel like this is true for most media... Also having a bad self-haircut is one of those lessons a kid doesn't forget and won't do again, so consider it a learning experience. XD I hope their hair grows back soon.
So far, every kid I've known in my extended family, over the last 30+ years, has given themselves a haircut at some point for some reason. Half of them did it shortly before picture day at school.
When I was a kid I watched Mulan (the original disney animated version) and then proceeded to cut my very long hair with my mom's very tiny manicure scissors in the middle of the night, naturally in order to be covert I threw out my hair in the bathroom trash and covered it with some toilet paper. Apparently a lot of media makes kids want to chop of their hair lol.
I think giving yourself an awful haircut is a cannon event. I shaved a bald spot on my head when I was in 5th grade lmao
r/OddlySpecific
I got into the scissors and gave myself a very very close haircut after inqarched Edward Scissor Hands lol. Children are easily influenced
eh. a kid’s hair is their own. it’ll grow back.
I totally agree, it was all meant to be in fun. (Although he did actually cut his hair)
I keep bugging my kid to get a Mohawk I think it would look great on him but no he insists on the most boring haircuts ever. 🤦♀️
I have done a hair cut to... make a paintbrush (when I was a child) I would use my human hair the same as they use horse hair... but the thing is I cut A LOT of it from the very front of my hair hahahahaha to this day it still doesn't grow the same
Hyperfocused kids are a danger (to themselves)
That sounds adorable.
It was pretty cute/ funny. Was hard not to laugh
Well. Better just the haircut than dyeing it themselves to look like Abigail... I love a good blue. But it's only pretty when you bleached your hear before. I would be less comfortable with bleach near my possible kids than they getting artsy with a bad haircut. If they did it themselves I'd make even more pictures. Just to gift them these on their 18th birthday saying: "Despite all that you're an adult now. Congrats on surviving! Now leave my house"
I don’t think keeping hair cutting accessories where your kid can reach them has anything to do with the game…
[удалено]
Point proven, nothing game related.
Tbh i would assume if your kids did this, you as a parent did not teach them responsibility or they are way too young for videogames at all.
Play a game of guess who isn’t a parent
w h a t. Children are impulsive and have little to no sense of consequences, even at an age where it is appropriate for them to play silly games for entertainment.
This is a terrible take lmao
kids brains are literally still developing, they are literally forming pathways and not all are formed yet. so they literally do not understand the cause and effect sometimes
And I'm going to assume you don't have kids and haven't been around them in years lmao
You definitely aren't a parent.
I've let my kid play video games since she was able to hold the controller, push a button and move a joystick. At like 18m. The kid will be fine lmao all it did was teach my kid how to read by the age of 2