When my children turned 9 or 10, I introduced them to roleplaying. They could read and write, and understood, to a degree, the different races and classes and what to do in different situations. I still had to help them figure out what dice to roll each time, and when they could use bonuses and other intricacies of Dungeons and Dragons. Way back then, that was our only choice for roleplaying.

The times, they are ‘a changin’. The 2 and 3 year olds who are under my feet all day are now learning to roleplay. Did I hear a chorus of ‘impossible’? Not at all. Remember the old ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books? Any fairy tale or children’s book can become an adventure in making choices and roleplaying different situations.

Try it with Hansel and Gretel. Read aloud as far as the father abandoning the children into the woods. Then put down the book, and ask your young charges, “Behind you is the trail of bread crumbs you left, which will guide you back home. Ahead you see a path, leading to a house made all of gingerbread and candy. Where do you want to go?”
The children make a choice (obviously the gingerbread house), and a consequence of their action is that the birds eat up all the breadcrumbs, leaving the kids without a trail home. They have just learned that for every action, there is a reaction.

Sometimes you can diverge so far from the story, you will find yourself creating a whole new one, based on choices and decisions your children have made. You are now the GM to your children’s characters. As they grow older, you can begin to introduce dice. Start small, with 1d4. Explain that there is a different consequence depending on which number they roll. If it’s a one, they will stick to the breadcrumb path. A 2 will lead them to the gingerbread house. Rolling a 3 leads them in a totally different direction, and a 4 brings a new character to talk to them.

Once they’ve mastered narrative roleplaying, teach them how to create their own characters. Have them choose their favorite character in a book. Decide what makes that a special character to them, and have them incorporate some of those traits into their own. Now as you roleplay with your children, with a book or without, teach them how to make decisions based on the character traits they’ve developed. Your 5 year old likes Snow White, because she’s pretty and kind to the dwarves. Now she must use kindness in different situations. When she meets the queen masquerading as an old woman, your child’s character must treat her kindly, even though the child knows the old woman is evil. It won’t be long before your little one is creating characters who can get out of familiar situations—but then don’t we all create characters who are as powerful as possible?

As the child progresses in each of the steps, add more and more rules to the mix. By the time you have teenagers, you’ll have ensured that you always have someone to game with—at least until they find their own cyberpunk gaming group, and leave you behind with your D&D.

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Eisel Write with Flair!
Senior Editor, The RPG Nexxus
Co-Editor, Roleplaying Tips.com