Little of both.
He’s got a healthy love for video games, and there’s certainly plenty of overlap in favorite titles (Celeste, Mario Odyssey, Pokemon, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, Link’s Awakening). But there’s also games he enjoys that I don’t (Bloons TD, Gemcraft, Mario + Rabbids, Mario Maker) and games I enjoy that he doesn’t (Hollow Knight, Breath of the Wild, Factorio, Satisfactory).
We also watch a handful of different animes/cartoons/shows together (with some episodes or scenes excepted). We’ve done Avatar: The Last Airbender, Futurama, Sword Art Online, Death Note, Animaniacs, and we’re currently working through The Owl House and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
On top of that, he’s got hobbies I’m not into. He loves drawing and takes Karate classes. We play D&D together as a family, but it’s not really my thing otherwise. As it happens, these are all interests he shares with his mother.
With my then teenage son it was video games and later strength training. Since he didn’t live with me, it helped tremendously in keeping the regular phone calls interesting. Nothing better than a common interest, where you can offer actual insights.
Mine aren’t old enough for me to know yet. My oldest (3yo) is really into unicorns and princesses right now. Not my cup of tea, but I know most of the words to the entire Little Mermaid soundtrack now.
Embrace your inner princess my dude, ride your unicorn war steed as the princesses champion.
Oh, for sure. We do some awesome tea parties, while rocking fairy wings, unicorn horns, and tutus. No shame, here.
Parenting done right :)
We share some. More importantly, I encourage them to pursue their interests.
