Gaming with a 4 & 6-year-old

Here's a bit of advice from thing's I've learned from video gaming with my small children. When you play games with children, you cannot care about the game. Period. Any value you attach to the game will be lost. Any time you have to spend with the kids will be squandered if you care about the game. Any save files you have for the game will be erased, corrupted, or overwritten, so DON'T CARE ABOUT THE GAME!

If you must, start a separate game for yourself where you can be as methodical as you like. Play at night when the kids are asleep. But, when you're playing with the kids, let them do whatever they want. Let them spend all your hard earned game-money. Let them use all the ammo for your bazooka. Let them erase your game! If you have any value attached to saved data, back it up, then your kids can go crazy with your super-leveled characters, your completely unlocked vehicles, the full world map and whatnot. Let them spend all your money, trade your rare items, and destroy everything you've built. It's just a game and, hey, you have a backup! Have fun, kids!