This Pokemon go thing

I went out with my very technically competent 4 yr old DGS this afternoon. We played the game, which involved switching it on , on my phone and me carrying the phone.

We then had a discussion about butterflies , crows and how leaves stick to trees.

The phone vibrated, he took it , located the Pokemon. Captured it. We then read about it( there's a little blurb) . Then off we went again.

This time it was about cartwheels and roll polys( his not mine) .

So, I personally see no harm in it. It has a place in Nana's entertainment arsenal along with Lego, books and iPads .

We've played a bit and found it fun if it gets kids out of their rooms it cant be be all bad .?

Living next to our village church I have seen and heard children of primary school age running around the churchyard as it is a "site" in this game to be ticked off. Are not children of this age a) too young to be unaccompanied by an adult and b) is it necessary for this age group to have mobile phones? So much for getting youngsters outside, they are still all glued to technology ! (My DGC age 16 & 14 are as bewildered as I am by this latest craze)

Howabout children being encouraged to look for and at real things instead. Finding out about nature and enjoying the scenery and the world around them.

No idea.....what this is all about. Not knowing has not affected my quota of happiness at all, so far. I don't expect it will, either.

I'm just waiting for DGS to beg his own phone off of me. Think he must be using his mum's at the moment.

Must confess DG and I been playing today. Lots of good things as well as bad. Players have to move about rather than sitting slumped in front of TV or Games console. We walked round a local country park
Don't think we can stop children loving technology and this seems like a good compromise providing they are made aware of risks

I agree breeze saw a report showing a car which had crashed because driver was playing this idiot or what ? Can see someone being badly injured ! Fed up of people not watching where they are going due to texting on the move and ignoring their children what's wrong with going for a walk and learning about nature together????

If they come into my garden looking for them I hope they can run fast?

Ahh! (to the last line)

Will await the "Granny, do you think you could..."

I think this is going to be a huge craze. It sounds a lot of fun and will actually get children and adults out and about taking some excersise. However, I've already seen stories about paedophiles latching onto it as a way of luring children to phoney Pokey stops so parents and grandparents need to be aware and accompany children in their searches.
On a mercenary note, the app is apparently free to download but in order to follow the game to higher levels it's pay, pay, pay.

There is a warning on the BBC News web site today suggesting that people are suffering accidents while playing this and asking that it should stop.

The bit I can't understand is the teachers at my grandkids very good and very strict church school are playing this and telling the kids all about it .

The double standards of some teachers are wonderful My over enthusiastic teenager grandson was put into detention for doing some tricks in class that the teacher had previously been showing off his skills doing my grandson has no good on/ off button and would have seen the teacher doing it as a signal to go one better

i don't think i'll be downloading and playing this. my grandaughters have loads of stuff on their mobiles and they're not really into wandering around collecting things.
we do take them out in the summer holidays [and weekends of course] anyway so they get enough exercise in the fresh air so when they find out how expensive it could be i think they'll have enough sense to steer clear of it - as will i.

I'm playing it. It's a good way to encourage kids to get outside, and livens up a boring walk. You can spot on the map where the things are that you are looking for, head towards them and the phone vibrates when you get close enough to catch them. It is not necessary to watch the screen the whole time.

Accidents have already happened ( to those playing it) and there will be many more, as children and adults walk around with heads down staring at phones.Like a load of sheep.

Think you can become even more absorbed playing a game though and my concern is for children. More likely to walk in front of a car when they are looking where they're going, let alone looking down to see if a Pokémon pops up on their phone. Makes me uneasy.

To be fair - I am guessing 99% of the people who are walking along the road , texting or looking at their iPhone etc are NOT playing the game but are doing what has become more and more prevalent - communicating on the move.

Stand anywhere where there is a large number of people on the move and a good percentage of them are walking without looking where they're going.

Watched someone explaining it on tv last night. Walking along the road looking down at their phone. Deedaa/Mick, spot on. Accidents waiting to happen.

It is crazy people with I phones walking along the streets playing it ,and not looking where there going, even worse if done whilst driving a car.
Mick

It sounds like an awful lot of accidents waiting to happen.

I just read on Facebook that the game overrides phone settings and automatically switches to paid data if you use up your allowance, not just free WiFi . So unless you're on a really good data package and aren't worried, you should be aware of how much data you're gobbling up!

Good! It was a bit worrying.

Sad that something new and fun could have a sinister side

jalima someone will go with my grandson if he goes off doing it. At eleven he's not old enough to go off on his own.

It's available to download today.

It's called a 'poke stop' pat.

I'm playing