Many young people dream of turning their love for video games into a career in esports or streaming. However, convincing parents that gaming is more than a hobby can be challenging. This guide on “How Do I Make My Parents Support Esports and Gaming” will help you bridge the gap between your passion and their understanding. 

Esports is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, spreading its tentacles into several big industries today. However, this exponential growth has done little to change parents’ and guardians’ common perception of gaming. 

Aspiring pro gamers who aim to make a career out of this often have to deal with the challenge of getting support from their parents. This is mainly due to the misconception held against gamers in the past, with many finding it hard to believe esports is indeed a sport. 

The subsequent paragraphs reveal info on how to rally support from your parents in your journey to becoming a professional gamer. We’ll also provide you with tips on how to convince someone that esports is a sport. Let’s get started. 

Address the Stereotype

Gaming has long been considered a leisure activity without feasible physical, mental, or financial rewards. Indeed, the concept of games was founded upon the idea of providing fun to the users, but the esports industry has evolved gaming into much more than a leisure activity,

Gamers themselves are often stereotyped as being socially awkward and living a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle. 

On the contrary, professional gaming is a very efficient way of improving cognitive skills, such as problem-solving, decision-making, and multitasking. It also helps improve focus and concentration and reduces stress and anxiety. Communicating with teammates and opponents builds interpersonal communication skills, which can improve social skills.

The most critical stereotype you should seek to counter is the “no reward” argument. It would help if you opened your parents’ eyes to the limitless esports career opportunities available in 2024. 

Explain Esports to Your Parents

If you’re trying to get your parents to support your career as an esports professional, they need to understand the full scope of what you’re getting into. The esports industry may be one of the fastest growing in the world, but the concept still needs to be familiar to most of the populace. 

You can educate your parents about esports to help you bridge this knowledge gap. Think up the most straightforward, concise, and informative way you can define esports to them. The most realistic explanation you can give about esports is to define it as a traditional sport.

You can give them an overview of the esports industry, its growth, its economic impact, and the various career opportunities open to professionals. 

Convincing them would be much easier if you showed them the various roles and jobs within esports. For example, players, coaches, content creators, team managers, etc. If your parents believe esports is an industry you can make a career out of, they’ll be much more inclined to support you in your journey. 

Know Your Esports

If you’re trying to convince people to back you in an unusual career choice, you need to showcase exceptional skill and knowledge about that career choice. As an aspiring pro gamer, knowledge of the esports industry needs to be deeply ingrained in you while you also have exceptional gaming skills.

You must continuously improve your gaming abilities by training regularly to improve your focus, concentration, and, ultimately, your in-game skills. Participation in friendlies and local tournaments can improve your skills, help you rank your abilities among your competitors, and showcase your abilities to a larger audience.

If you compete in tournaments and grab a couple of wins, you’ll slowly develop a reputation in esports. 

This will help you build an online presence and a personal brand in the industry. Having a solid online presence can attract esports sponsors, get you invited to bigger tournaments, and ultimately show your parents that esports is no joke,  

Tell Them Actual Success Stories

One of the best ways to back up an argument is to provide living proofs or testimonials. If you can show your parents people who have succeeded in following the same path you wish to follow, convincing them would be much easier.

For example, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, who is considered one of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS) Players, started his gaming career at a very young age. He quickly rose through the ranks due to his exceptional talent and dedication. Over time, he participated in several tournaments, which helped him set many records and win prestigious prizes.

Today, S1mple is ranked as one of the best CS players in the world and among the esports community’s top earners. 

Telling your parents stories like this will help them believe in your journey and support you as you progress.

Show Your Parents Your Potential

Showcasing personal achievements is one of the best ways to get your parent’s attention and support. To garner support from your parents, they need to know you’re good enough to compete against some of the best in the industry. This is the perfect time to show off tournament wins, rewards, prizes you might have won and even in-game rankings.

You can showcase your achievements singularly, but organizing them in a standard portfolio will make them more impressive. Several free portfolio websites like HubSpot, WordPress, and Behance can help you improve your profile and achievements. 

Social media is also an excellent place to showcase your achievements. You can post about your successes on your favourite social media platforms to help boost your online presence. If you’re gaining traction in esports, you’d have proof to present to your parents to earn their support. 

Tell Your Parents About Your Aspirations

A well-developed career plan will show your parents you intend to make a career out of esports gaming. 

Your goals should be outlined based on your priorities and aspirations. They should be realistic, feasible, and achievable to any average individual. You’d also need to create a realistic plan for achieving these goals. 

Goals can be divided into short—and long-term objectives, depending on what you want to achieve now and your future aspirations or achievements. 

When setting your goals, one crucial part you must address should be your expected financial inflow. It’s no secret that the top pro gamers make a lot of money, but you’re just not there yet, and you need to factor in the frequency and volume of your income on your way to becoming a pro gamer. 

If you can show your parents that esports can be a financially rewarding career based on your goals and objectives, they’re more likely to support you. 

Agree to Prioritize Your Studies

It’s no news that you don’t require formal education to become a professional gamer. Still, it would help to take your education seriously to garner your parents’ support. 

Find a decent balance between your academics and your gaming career. Dedicate just enough time to each while ensuring that no one falls behind. 

You can also expose your parents to college scholarships open to esport athletes. If they see that students are getting sponsored through esports, they’ll support you much more. 

Assure your parents that your education remains a priority while showing them how gaming can complement your academic endeavours.

For instance, it improves your focus and concentration, which can be useful when studying, and it helps you deal with stress and anxiety that might pop up during examinations.

Agree to Prioritize Your Health and Physical Well-Being

Becoming a pro gamer requires hours of constant practice, dedication, and laser-eyed focus. Gamers spend much time staring at screens, which can harm their health and mental well-being. 

However, to remain productive, it would be best to find a healthy “gaming-life” balance. A healthy lifestyle will ensure you maintain a healthy mind, boost your in-game performances, and reduce anxiety and stress. 

No parent will give their kids thumbs up for slaving away at a screen all day long in the name of pursuing an esports career. If you want your parents to support you, you have to prioritize your health. This includes regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, and getting sufficient rest. 

Even top esports athletes like Pasha from Virtus.pro often post gym and workout pictures on Instagram. These programs help them maintain a healthy life to keep them in optimal shape for competitions and tournaments. 

Explain How It Will Benefit Your Character

Esports provides several benefits, one of which is character development. It’ll help you: 

Improve Your Ability to Work with Others:

Team-based games require gamers to work with several teammates, which requires teamwork, communication, and strategic collaboration. 

For example, Call of Duty Team Championships groups players into squads. This would require the players in each group to work together to develop a winning strategy. Competing in team-based games will help improve your ability to work with others.

Improve Your Social Skills:

Gamers often interact with other gamers in chat rooms, communities, and social media platforms. This helps build friendships and improve communication skills and confidence.

If you’ve been struggling to socialize, you can take a page from your gaming book to help you interact with people physically.

Improve Your Reliability

Building a career as a pro gamer requires discipline and consistency. It would help if you practised constantly to improve your skills. 

Over time, this discipline and consistency will translate into your daily life, making you more reliable and consistent.

Open Doors to Multiple Rewarding Career Paths

When many people hear the word esports, their minds go straight to playing games. However, that’s not the entirety of the esports industry; there are tons of career opportunities derived from it.

Aside from the popular esports career opportunities like pro gaming and streaming, there are other job opportunities like game development, marketing, coaching, event management, commentators, and many more. 

These career opportunities are financially rewarding, with many having few entry barriers.

In addition to being financially rewarding, these careers are also witnessing a growth in demand for skilled professionals who can handle the jobs properly. 

You can use this knowledge to enlighten your parents that the esports industry is much more than playing games on a console or a computer; it is an industry with limitless career opportunities. 

Parting Shots

Esports, in general, has yet to reach global acceptance as a legitimate career path. Parents would feel much more comfortable seeing their kids venture into fairly well-known careers with a history of profitability.

It’s up to you to convince your parents to support you in your pursuit of becoming an esports professional. 

You’ll need to have open and honest conversations with your parents to educate them about esports and your goals and ambitions.

While it might be easy to go the usual route and venture into the most popular career path everyone is into, you’ll find much more joy and fulfilment working in one you’re passionate about. 

Feel free to follow your passion today, but maintain a balanced and responsible approach to becoming a professional gamer.