There are no two ways about it, kids just love Fortnite! They love the franchise’s endless theatrics, skins, pickaxes, and the actual Battle Royale game to bits.

However, is Fortnite an appropriate game for your child? Should you let him/her play Fortnite even if they are over the age of 13 (the game’s age rating)?

Should you let your 9-year-old play Fortnite? Yes, this question sounds crazy, but I personally know parents with kids younger than 9 that grind Fortnite daily!

As a dad who played Fortnite with his son on an almost-daily basis, I have first-hand experience with all of this. And as much I don’t want to agree with the moms that say things like “Fortnite is turning our children into monsters!”, I also do sympathize with those parents because I’ve both experienced that aggression personally and witnessed it from my son.

So let's begin by taking a quick look at what Fortnite really is.

Fortnite — The No.1 Game in the World!

Fortnite: Battle Royale is a free-to-play online multiplayer survival shooter game (that was long!). You can download and play Fortnite for free on XBox, PS4, PC, Nintendo, and more.

Fortnite’s publishers, Epic Games, make their money from micro-transactions. If you want access to seasonal Battle Passes or additional shop items like skins, emotes, or pickaxes, then you will have to buy them with V-Bucks, an in-game currency that can be acquired with real cash.

V-Bucks is relatively cheap. However, Fortnite releases fancy new items daily, and users will need V-Bucks every few months to gain access to the latest Battle Pass.

The constant release of new skins, game modes, Battle Passes, and more has turned Fortnite into a massive content-generating machine. This is why so many streamers love Fortnite and earn a living playing the game. Our kids watch these streamers on YouTube and get even more amped-up to try to play the game as they do.

Popular streamers like Typical Gamer base all of their YouTube content on Fortnite.

Also, Fortnite’s ability to constantly generate new content and keep their game fresh is one of the reasons why the game can keep gamers interested and on the platform longer. It's also part of the reason why the game is so addictive.

Answering Parents Questions About Fortnite

As a gamer dad, friends and family are always asking me questions related to which gaming console or game to buy for their kids. Lately, I have been getting a lot of questions about Fortnite.

Here are some of the most common questions parents have asked me about Fortnite:

• Should I let my child play Fortnite?
• Will Fortnite make my child aggressive?
• How addictive is Fortnite?
• Will my child learn and become smarter from playing Fortnite?

As a father with a 9-year-old Fortnite-obsessed fiend, I totally relate to these questions. My answers follow in the sections below:

Should I let my child play Fortnite?

I personally have been playing Fortnite since it was released back in 2017. It's an exciting game with plenty of Pros and Cons. Such as:

Pros:

• Awesome “cartoonish” console graphics with attention to detail
• Great fight/build mechanics unlike any other shooter
• Amazing content, best skins you will ever find, from Batman to John Wick
• Its free so you don't have to invest anything and your kid can have endless fun

Cons:

• Addictive gaming at its best. The Battle Royale structure means you are only as good as your last round. This leaves people playing endlessly at times trying to get a win.
• Addictive content. Fortnite is consistently releasing insane content in their Battle Passes that requires the user to play to unlock. If you decide to leave the game now, then you will lose out big time, which can lead to a huge disappointment.
• Fortnite rage. The rage is real! With high stakes comes very high disappointment.

Verdict

If your child can abide by limited screen time and knows how to deal with losing (which will happen a lot!), then I would say YES, let them play. But under your supervision.

However, If you think that this game will take over your kid’s life (which I have seen happen), then be very cautious. Rather select a different game for them to play.

Will Fortnite Make My Child Aggressive?

Fortnite normalizes aggression under provocation — This is a common statement that you will find online.

The article that I got the statement from goes on to state:

Its acceptable and preferable to act aggressively in the game. Players are expected to be aggressive and kill other players or be killed.

One can go on to say that games like Fortnite encourage violence as it rewards players for aggressive and violent behavior.

However, there are other factors to consider as well. Such as:

• Fortnite: Battle Royale is a “last man standing” game. You can literally win the game just by killing one person only (while the others fight themselves).
• Strategy is absolutely crucial. You will most likely never achieve a Victory Royale with no strategy.
• There are other less violent game modes like “Creative Mode” and “Party Royale.” I noticed that kids tend to get bored with the regular Battle Royale modes quickly, which is why they prefer Creative.

Verdict

Video games making kids violent is a hot topic that has been up for debate for ages. I'm not writing this to refresh that debate. However, I can offer some of my own advice and experience.

My son in particular gets very aggressive when playing Fortnite (and other competitive games). He shouts a lot and screams in anger when he loses. However, this behavior is uncharacteristic of my son, as he is a sweet and loving child that is always calm and respectful towards others.

It made me very uneasy to see my son behaving like this, so unfortunately for him, I stopped him from playing Fortnite completely. It certainly broke my heart (and of course, his) when I broke the news to him, but I know this is the right decision for him right now.

Another motivating factor for stooping my son from playing was myself. I found myself exhibiting similar aggressive behavior whenever I played Fortnite. My wife told me once that she could hear me screaming from the street!

The adult in me eventually learned to accept defeat and be more of a good sport. My mentality changed and this made me less aggressive.

Even as an adult, it took me a while to develop a calmer state of mind when playing Fortnite. So that made me more confident in stopping my son cold turkey because getting to a calmer state of mind while playing was too difficult for him at this age.

How Addictive is Fortnite?

There's an excellent article from Game Quitters that has an in-depth look at Fortnite addiction among kids.

Let's face the facts. Epic Games and Fortnite generate billions (not millions) of dollars from a free game. Players pay real cash for V-Bucks (Fortnite’s in-game currency) so they can use it to buy exclusive items like skins and emotes. You also need V-Bucks to gain access to seasonal Battle Passes where you can level-up to earn free rewards).

Now, Fortnite leverages FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) a lot. For example, the Kylo Ren skin and his TIE Fighter glider were available in the store for one day only. I was forced to take out my credit card immediately to buy it. Also, Rick Ashley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” emote was on for a day only too.

The above strategy makes the user want to instantly spend money to get exclusive items to show off or else they will miss out on this opportunity.

This is also one of the main reasons why there are so many horror stories of kids stealing their parents' credit cards and splashing out on V-Bucks.

Fortnite also strategically designs seasonal Battle Passes to make you play the game constantly so that you can continuously unlock the latest trends. I personally grew tired of the game, only to continually log in to earn XP so I could unlock the Iron Man skin!

Verdict

Yes, there is certainly an addictive aspect to the game regarding its content.

Epic Games has designed an exceptional product that has the ability to keep people on the platform for as long as possible. I haven't touched much on the gameplay because other games like Red Dead Redemption 2 has more addictive gameplay than Fortnite.

However, Fortnite is a content-generating machine that has new exclusive content daily and is as addictive as YouTube or Netflix (in terms of consuming content). The difference is, with Fortnite, you will have to keep on paying money to enjoy most of the content.

Paying money towards an addictive pastime can be very dangerous.

Will Fortnite Make My Child Smarter?

The combination of the Battle Royale (last man standing) format and online multiplayer aspect make Fortnite a rather challenging game. With most traditional games you have to win against a pre-determined computer opponent. With Fortnite, you play against “real” human players.

Playing against other online players is a completely different dynamic. Your strategy and skill have to match or be better than other players from around the world if you wish to be excel in the game.

Necessary skills required in Fortnite:

• Survival skills — Hiding, outsmarting opponents by evading them, and acquiring items like health, shield, and ammo.
• Building — You will have to consistently harvest items in the game that you will use to build forts. You will also need to know how to build structures to your advantage during a battle with an opponent.
• Good Sportsmanship — I touched on this a bit earlier. Because you are playing with other people, you must learn to accept defeat and be a good sport. You also need to learn how to play with others. This is something I see a lot of kids struggling with.

Verdict

Your child isn’t going to learn too much academically by playing Fortnite. Really young kids might learn to read faster because of all the reading required to identify objects and game modes.

You could compare Fortnite to a sport. What will a kid learn from playing soccer? Soccer skills and sportsmanship, right?

If your child is like most kids that spend a lot of time at home, then playing with other kids on Fortnite can teach him some valuable life lessons. However, it's worth noting, as, with other sports, Fortnite is also open to bullying and negative feedback from other players.

TL;DR

When it comes to our kids, we all just want the best for them. That's all. It can be hard to define what the best is sometimes. Is letting them play a game such a bad thing? Or is this game so toxic that it can affect the way a child perceives the world?

These are genuine questions that any parent would ask. If you are here reading this article, then you are most likely concerned about the effects of this game on your child.

Letting your child play Fortnite (or any other game) can be a confusing topic to find common ground. If you are doubtful about your child's safety or wellbeing, then it's best that you stop them from playing this game.