The moments I want more of in co-op are the ones where we are both about to lose. We were each a single hit from going down, and instead of taking over I let Evan try to bail us out. Legitimately, I might die. We're in the same boat, bro. It'd be faster if I just did everything myself. It'd also teach him nothing. When I hand him the pressure and let him come through, he stands a little taller for the rest of the night. Losing together and clawing back out of it has done more for us than any easy win. When you play with your kid, do you swoop in and save the run, or do you let them figure the hard parts out?

Something small that turned into a real lesson at our house. In co-op, Evan loves to run ahead and grab every chest while I stay behind and soak up the fight. Then I die, the gear takes a hit, and we pay for it. It's about you looting the chests while I'm getting the tar kicked out of me and then I die. What I've noticed is that saying the pattern out loud, calmly, in the moment, works better than getting frustrated after. He's ten. He isn't trying to leave me hanging, he just really likes treasure. So we're learning to trade off who fights and who grabs. How do you split up the work when you play games with your kid, and does one of you always end up carrying it?

One thing I've learned is that playing with my kid means playing the whole game, including the petty parts. Last time we played, Evan raced ahead to block me from turning in my museum haul, since you can only talk to one villager at a time. He thought it was hilarious. This time he was sprinting to sell his big goods before Jon Shop closed. So I walked in first and started talking to Jon so he couldn't reach him. He broke into his Johnny Shoppy chant to run faster, heard the bell, and realized he was too late. I could have let it go. But getting him back, fair and square, tells him I'm in this with him, not above it. The teasing goes both ways, and he loves that. We laughed for a good 5 minutes about it. What's a bit of playful payback your kid has earned from you lately?

I've come around on getting roasted by my kid. For a long time my instinct was to fire back and win. Now I think letting him have it is the better play. We were fishing and I was explaining how the lure works. Evan took that and ran with it. If you were the lure, no one would ever want you. Ruthless, and I let it go instead of making a direct comeback, but here's what I notice. He only goes that hard when he feels completely safe. The roasting is a sign he trusts me to take it and still be his dad. So I eat it and tell him he got me. Winning the exchange was never really the point. Do you fire back when your kid roasts you, or do you let them have the win?

Here's a pattern we fall into with every survival game we start. Evan wants to plow ahead into areas we're not ready for, we get smacked, we get frustrated, and the game ends up dead on the shelf. This episode I caught myself about to veto him again. He wanted to try a quest I was pretty sure would take us apart. So I said it out loud, this happens to us all the time, and then I told him if you want to try it, I'll try it. So we tried it. The bosses tore me apart while he ran off looting chests, and honestly it was more fun than if I'd shut it down. Saying the pattern before it hits seems to take the sting out of it. He gets to lead, I get to follow, and nobody rage quits over it. When your kid wants to rush into the hard part, do you slow them down or let them drag you in?