Another parent with a PokemonGO obsessed kid. :-h
@flatKansas first acceptance! Woo hoo!!! <:-P =D>
packing my kids are great at packing, however being the control freak I am, I will usually have them lay everything out before putting it in the suitcase to do a visual inventory. Once in a blue moon I’ll find something missing, like underwear or shoes.
pokeman go just heard about this yesterday from my brother who said he’s doing it to embarrass his teenage kids. My kids just discovered it too but haven’t started. I need to look into what this craze is all about. @Gator88NE my D16 is starting UF in the fall and I’m wondering if she will be a crazed gator.
@SoccerMomGenie welcome! :-h
@Mom2aphysicsgeek the good news from the trip is that I appreciate my H and kids like crazy! We would catch glimpses of each other and mouth I love you.
@MichiganGeorgia My wife is a CMU Chippewa as well. They have a nice little Neuroscience program. I just drove through Clare, nearby, on the way to West Branch, where we stayed for a week.
Pokemon GO ratio to cyclists/runners on the trail tonight during my run had to be 3:1. Too funny. They have better trail etiquette than half the cyclists out there! No one almost took me out whizzing by.
Although the cyclist runner combo clearly playing and looking at the iPhones while moving did give me pause. Still. Teens and young adults outside, interacting together while still getting their screen fix and exercise…major major win.
@SoccerMomGenie Welcome! My son sounds like your DD in that the type of schools he has liked have been varied (urban, suburban, very large, very small). I too was a bit puzzled by it but I think my son is looking for something outside of his comfort zone that feels somewhat comfortable, if that makes sense.
@2muchquan I don’t think you can escape hearing about Pokemon Go much longer. My son tells me that the red teams are winning at the pentagon and White House. Let’s hope everyone, including the kids, get back to their tasks tomorrow. My son spent the day getting “fresh air”. He’s an active kid but it was a lot of fresh air for a hot summer day.
It was just in the news. Look out for armed robberies with Pokemon GO. Something about temporarily being able to show your location. Then the bad guys strike.
OK, seriously?
Some how my kids have managed to avoid much of the online gaming craze, facebook, social media, etc. I will ask them if they have heard about Pokeman GO. May have heard about it but I will be surprised if they are playing it (or doing whatever it is kids are doing with it).
@eandesmom My son mentioned that he and his friends ran into other groups all day long on the trails. You are right, teens and young adults outside getting exercise is a win. Imagine if we had CC Go :))
My DS was walking around with his phone all day today playing Pokemon GO. We went to a comic book store today and it happened to be a Pokemon gym. I have no idea what that means. Why Nintendo, why? 8-|
@Hades321 You’re right, my parents have the best intentions and want him to go to a school where he is happy regardless of the cost. I try to keep that in mind when they mention lottery schools.
Alright, Parent Pokemon Go 101 Time!
- What is a totodile? *Google it, image links are not allowed. - FC*
- What is it? Remember Gameboy's? Nintendo made an amazing move and capitalized on the nostalgia and legacy of the original game, and added so much more.For those not aware, Pokemon has been revolutionary in gaming for anyone born after 1990 really, if not sooner. The game has always advocated for adventure, exploring, and, well, going outside. This isn't Nintendo's first attempt to get people outside, but this is by far a huge success already.
The basic premise is that Pokemon are in our world, and they’re basically like pets that you collect, train, and non-lethally fight. Winning is as important as developing a relationship with the Pokemon themselves - previous games even build your relationship with the Pokemon into your overall success.
The game itself is unique because it really is a developed an immersive storyline but also has a lot of freedom and plenty of achievements that take time to complete. It appeals to such a huge demographic and has avoided being gendered or pigeonholed in really any way. On top of all that, it has a really cool message everyone can appreciate.
- Why is it so successful?
So, everything I just described all existed before Pokemon Go - but this version brings it to everyone as a free mobile app as well as really integrating the Pokemon world into the real one. Instead of moving with the arrow keys, you move in real life - you literally have to go outside to play, which is an incredible move on Nintendo’s part. It plays exactly into the original philosophy of the game - go out and adventure!
So, they not only created an amazing game, but basically farmed a consumer and prepared them for 20 years. Pretty hard to resist.
- What's the effect?
Cross your lucky stars this came out in the summer, but don’t think this just affects high school and college. At my internship on Friday (tech company), I would say 50% of the office was playing all day.
I live in Boston - a few blocks from my apartment, there’s a reflecting pool, where about 75-100 people were all gathered playing Pokemon and catching water types. It was quite a sight.
- So safety - what's up there?
Well, when people go outside, they find things lol - some good, some bad.
Watching your surroundings is a real concern - it’s a matter of time before someone gets killed by not paying attention, unfortunately. Just make sure they stay away from big roads or playing while biking IMO.
The armed robbery thing is a one off - because people look for Pokemon, there are concentrations of people in areas where Pokemon are, which is what the robbers used. There wasn’t any “hacking” or actual security breach as far as I know.
- Do parents need to worry about schoolwork getting done?
Like everything, there’s going to be a fade out, but Pokemon has always been an addicting game - just give it time. People will probably play in spurts - it will always wait for you.
Hope that helps you all 
S17 has a break from camp so I got to talk with him for the first time in 2 weeks. He’s staying with his grandparents between sessions. He had a blast as usual. Really wishes he could stay for one more session and plans to work as a camp counselor next year. He just doesn’t want to imagine never going back. Has a friend who’s going to UCSC next year and is now excited to apply there. And he was very happy with his AP results.
I have no idea if he’s doing Pokemom Go. He has an uneventful 2 days at my parents, so it’s possible he will buy it for himself. But then he’d only get to play it for 2 days, so I don’t know if he would bother.
S20 has been obsessed with PokemonGo for the last few days. He willingly tagged along with me when we went grocery shopping and caught 24 (!) pokemon at the store alone. I have a feeling I’m going to have a buddy any time I decide to go out somewhere.
I have also witnessed many, many teens and adults walking or driving around playing the game. Obviously being out and about is a good thing from a health standpoint, but so many of them are walking out in the middle of the roads without looking to see if a car is coming. Definitely worried about safety with this, so S20 is not allowed to just walk around in the neighborhood to catch pokemon without H accompanying him. I really hope this all fades into the background by the time school starts!
Stress I’m definitely stressed about the whole process. As far as I know, D had not started her CommonApp essay because she has been too busy. Also, the list is still not finalized. Last time I talked to D, she assured me that everything would be fine and that she would have a place to attend next year, so there was no need to worry. Nice to know at least one of us is calm!
@BusyNapping I’m with you. DS is not stressed and feels like there is so need to worry which just ramps up my stress more. :-S
Since @snoozn mentioned the army, how would your family feel about something like this:
@nw2this For most of my kids, I would have no problem and would think it was a great option, but not for this Dd. She has a lot of pretty serious health issues.
Thanks for the idea, though. This group is awesome!
@PengsPhils Thank you for explaining Pokemon Go. We have never had any pokemon players in our family so I had no clue. My only exposure to pokemon (embarrassingly) that once in a while I’ll play a game on a Minecraft server that’s basically pictionary with hints like hangman. The drawings are atrocious but letters to the answer are given one by one as hints and I have a knack for recognizing words from only a couple of letters…unless the answer is a weird pokemon name. Charmander? Polywag? Pokeball? I have no idea what they look like but I can recognize the names now 
My son17 said he noticed a lot of boys walking around the campus of UMass during a lax tournament playing Pokemon Go. So, I guess it’s a pretty popular app when you have a bunch of jock lax bros playing in between tournament games, ha.
She made it by the stroke of midnight! lol D finished the first draft of her main essay. I’ll mark it up while she’s at camp next week. This week she’ll work on essays for 3 schools.
@PengsPhils well now you did it. I must play this game after work. :))
QOTD: If your kid were a college, what college would they be?
I’ll go. My D would be Harvey Mudd. Small, mighty, geeky, not a lot of pants worn there either.