5 Tips for Playing DnD With Kids

[@bobbycrosby9765]

I play with my kids and wife, and the kids are on the younger side - they're 8, 5, and 5. The dynamics are a bit different because my wife is the only adult player. The short sessions are really key - my kids start losing their minds at about an hour in. This can be a blessing though - you can easily tweak the adventure based upon what isn't working without having to do it live. But since we're all in the same household it's easy to have sessions pretty often - we usually have 2-5 per week.

[@hvapwns]

It’s like you knew I needed this. I want to get my 4 year old and 2 year old in the hobby with mom and dad but I’m hesitant to run a family game.

[@shortreststudios]

That's great! With kids that young, I'd also figure out how to keep things very simple. Maybe even forgo role play altogether until old enough to understand. But you also know your kids better than I do. Get 'em rolling those dice!

[@toddcampbell9732]

A year later... so any updates? Were you able to get your kids involved? What went well? What were your main take-a-ways? (My 8 year old is the dominant voice at the table - I sometimes have to reel him in)

[@leviwarren6222]

Hey! A normal, not weird full grown adult with a role playing channel. This is good stuff. My oldest son is just on the cusp of being able to read fluently and I've been considering building a light TTRPG system for him and his siblings as they get older. Even if he doesn't end up liking it, it will still be a great time to bond.

[@shortreststudios]

Normal? Well, I wouldn’t go that far! That is such a great attitude to have. Glad you enjoyed the video. I’d love to hear how it goes!

[@educationaldm4700]

Good tips. Love to hear more progress and tips on playing with your kid.

[@shortreststudios]

Appreciate that feedback! Thank you.

[@tytonshade]

I literally said "Yes!" 5 times in the first 5 minutes. This is my video.

[@codyhoney9101]

I play exclusively with my kids ages 8-13. We've played for 2 years. Kids are natural role players. But you're right, the young ones do need shorter sessions. 3 hours is about the most I've gotten out of them before it turns into chaos.

[@tytonshade]

Another option, play games where all the players are around the same age. Ive found running sessions around 3 hours for a group of 10~ish yr old girl scouts keeps them on a level field.

[@PyroTech03]

Found this video looking into running a game for my 8yo son and 9yo daughter that found my dice and books. They started looking at stuff and got interested. Excited but nervous about putting something together for them.

[@shortreststudios]

That’s awesome! You’ll do great! WoTC actually has a really great FREE one shot adventure called Peril in Pinebrook. It’s got simplified rules and is written to last about an hour. It would be a great way to introduce kids to the game. media.wizards.com/2023/downloads/dnd/Peril_in_Pinebrook_COMPLETE.pdf

[@PyroTech03]

@@shortreststudios awesome! Thank you for the share!

[@echo-hotel]

I don’t really agree with everything here. Mainly if you are going to skip anything don’t skip the RP. Lean into the RP and have something fun happen. I’ve hosted games all day where we’d play for two hours and the kids keep signing up for the next game. I’ve had a few kids play from noon to midnight. Signing up for 6-8 games in a row. Often it’s the same kids so I ask if they want to continue where they ended their last game. I skip some behind the screen rolls to get things moving sometimes. It’s more important they have fun. They can learn the rules later. I like having kids at the table. It gets the adults to open up and learn RP. It’s absolutely silting you must try if you have a new adult player. Teaching the rules to the kids takes the spot light off the adults. So definitely add a kid to your tables if you can. I started playing light rules with my daughter around six years old. Bite size games like escape rooms really help encourage RP and problem solving that she went on to use in more and more rule heavy games. Also doing pull out the rule book with a child. If you are running a game you should have a good guess s to what the rules could be. Just gloss over it and they won’t remember that one time a rouge didn’t use trigonometry to hit something in a tree.

[@jareddumke5300]

very informative video little sidenote you gave rule 3 twice the focus on action rather than role play The info in both is good and a little different you just introduce it twice

[@shortreststudios]

Haha! Need to have a talk with my video editor! It's me. I'm the video editor.

[@simeonreigle2940]

What does his shirt say?

[@shortreststudios]

Jesus saves. Everyone else roll for damage.

[@kosmaukaszczyk8401]

one more thing try make things simple and not to dark i know murder mystery with diffrent realities and times travel can be fun but if adult players have problem with understandimg story the kid will have even more of it

[@shortreststudios]

That’s a good tip. Thanks for sharing and for watching!

[@kittydigs6469]

No no way🤬

[@shortreststudios]

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