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One of the best parts of having a hobby is being able to share that hobby with other people. It’s even more fun when that other person is your child, who you can spend a lot of time with doing your hobby and who you can support enjoying your hobby! Having a hobby in common with your child can really help strengthen your bond with them and give you a way to connect with them, especially as they become tweens and teens. One of my main hobbies is Pokemon – I love playing Pokemon Go, I love collecting Pokemon cards, I enjoy the TV series, movies, and generally being apart of the Pokemon fan club. So, naturally, I wanted to ensure that we had a good go at getting our children interested in Pokemon themselves!
Start with the TV Series
The first thing we started doing at our house was casually putting on Pokemon. We’d select the TV Series from Netflix and just put it on, whenever our kids were in the living room. Think of this as exposure to the brand – they were watching or listening to Pokemon, seeing the creatures, and understanding what the characters and creatures do. We did a few big movie nights where everyone came together, with snacks in tow, to watch Pokemon movies and further see the brand.
Styling Their World
It’s very clear that children will gravitate towards a favorite Pokemon. For Amelia, that was Eevee. Once she started showing interest in Eevee, I would talk to her about her favorite Pokemon, talk about what Eevee can evolve into and just continue to encourage her love of the show. Then, we started theming her room around Pokemon, with Eevee wall decals, Pokemon bedding, and other Pokemon accessories. We also got her Pokemon clothing and accessories to help show her hobby off to the world.
Play Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go is my favorite way to interact with Pokemon. I really enjoy the game and have been playing it since it first came out. I would actively play whenever we were out and about, so I started letting Amelia catch Pokemon for me. She would spin stops and otherwise interact with the game. This made her curious about what Pokemon games were out there and how they worked. Soon, we created her own Pokemon Go account on her phone so that she could catch her own Pokemon.
Interact Together
Once Amelia was into Pokemon Go a little bit, we would interact a lot about the game. I’d ask her what Pokemon she recently got or tell her about the newest update. This then extended to other Pokemon games! We got Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Violet, Pokemon Sword, Let’s Go Eevee… In these games you are able to play two player or play on your TV, so that others can watch. This way of playing together is such a good way to bond with your children and makes the experience feel like such a fun, joint activity.
Getting into Trading Cards
From there, we experimented in the Pokemon trading cards, which is an entire game in itself. At the moment, Amelia hasn’t gotten her head around Pokemon Cards beyond collecting, but we have looked at local Pokemon card clubs and purchased a few packs like the Scarlett & Violet Paldea Evolved sets to have them around the house when she is ready to dive into that world – which I will be happy to guide her through!
Pokemon is such a massive franchise with so much to explore in the brand. There are so many games to play together, items and cards to collect, as well as Pokemon to catch. It’s easily accessible and doesn’t feel like something that is kid’s only, making Pokemon a great way to bond with your children and play along with them.
I played pokemon go for over a year and love it lol…Amazing and super active game.
POkemon is great and my nephews love them! A good way to bond when doing Pokemon Go together!
The TV series is really agood start. Its where I started too!
I soooo remember playing Pokemon Go with my son. He was completely obsessed to see which Pokemon he would catch. I got into it too. The cartoon and the games were a big hit too. I even got his a Pickachu stuffed animal once. Aside from it being a great franchise, I cherish the memories we created with it during his younger years. Big fans here!
I’m thrilled to see such valuable insights and advice. I can’t wait to try out these strategies with my own kids and introduce them to the magical world of Pokémon.
This is just so cool. My kids really love Pokemon.
Sounds so interesting and interactive! Love it!
My daughter loved Pokemon when she was a kid and so did my nephew and now… my youngest niece loves them too! We are going through our old collection of Pokemon cards to give to her!