Sarah over at the Goon Squad has been pondering this conundrum lately and it came up today with our family…at the mall.
We had to take care of a couple of errands at the mall – one being getting a refund from ticketmaster – and two being Crunchy Husband paying his speeding ticket (snicker).
Fun was to be had. The kids finally got to ride the mall choo choo and it was nice to see Crunchy Husband relaxing and having a laugh.
On our treck we passed an arcade.
Now, arcades are a bit nostalgic for CH and I. We spent many a romantic evening with a pile of quarters in front of us playing the Terminator Shootem up game. Over and Over. Sue me. I like shooting things.
The kids were tugging us towards it with much ‘What is that!?’ exclamations.
All our eyes were drawn to the game with two big pulse rifles attached. It was an Aliens game. An Aliens game that let you shoot pulse rifles.
ooooooh. 
We had to play.
We had to pretend to let Adam play.
ooooooh.
It was fun.
What sad sack parents play shootem up Aliens games with their kids?
Call the child services now.
Oh and then CH bought Adam a retro Transformer toy.
Yah.
Oh and speaking of alterna parents…I am reading ‘Punk Rock Dad’Â by Jim Lindberg. Â I will be reviewing it soon and am really enjoying it….and I didn’t think I would.
Me next…it’s my turn! Stop hogging it all up. It’s SO NOT FAIR that you’re not sharing. 🙂
Think of it this way, come the inevitable breakdown of western civilisation, your children will at least know how to handle a glock, thereby protecting themselves from the zombie hordes.
I’m a peace activist and LOVED the Terminator game so much I may have been their sole source of profit back in the day. The Alien game looks just as fun. Every parent I’ve ever known who has tried to prevent their kids from pretending to play with guns has lost the battle–the kids’ little peers teach them everything that we wish they would not learn.
Good for you, CH and the kiddos to take time for fun!
So, are you a hipster?
Hey, don’t beat yourself up for having fun!
Woohoo! That sounded like a blast. I remember the days, when we were courting, when we’d go to the movies really early cuz it was 100 degrees outside and it was the only air conditioned place to go. We’d play video games and pinball until the movie started. Them were the days.