Parents Are Hiring Fortnite Trainers To Coach Kids Into Battle Royale Killing Machines
Traditionally, kids are expected to play sports like baseball, football, basketball, or other sports of the type you learn in school growing up. In modern times, however, kids and adults alike are playing a lot of video games, and the eSports arena can be as competitive and even more popular that traditional sports. Some parents hold the dream that their kids will one day be professional athletes and get paid millions to play traditional professional sports teams. However, when it comes to eSports, the reality is that there are certainly gamers out there who make huge money as well, and pro-streamer Fortnite player Ninja is one such example claiming to earn $500,000 per month.
To help their kids get ahead and more competitive at the biggest battle royale game out there, Fortnite, some parents have taken to hiring coaches to help them get better. In fact, some parents who want to join their kids in these games are hiring their own coach to help them get better as well. Parents are reportedly paying around $10 to $20 for an hour of coaching. Fortnite is a big deal right now, with over 125 million players playing the game globally, and it is earning huge money for Epic Games to the tune of a billion in revenue just from in-game transactions.
Some people are up in arms over the thought of a parent paying money to help their kids get better in a video game. Some find the practice sad and bordering on bad parenting. Parents likely felt the same way when the first board games were invented. There are lots of valid reasons why kids may spend time playing games. Some kids just don’t like competitive physical sports, plain and simple. Perhaps the kids are in an area where there are no other kids to play with. As the father of teens, I can tell you, kids today see very little difference in a friend they talk to online and one they talk to in person. We're all just connected.
Parents paying to help a child be better at something they enjoy is nothing to get worked up over. It’s great to see a parent support a child in their goals. It’s also great to see parents who want to get better so they can spend time with their kid playing the games they love as well. The chances that your Fortnite-playing son or daughter will become the next Ninja Blevins making a cool $500K a month are as slim as they are for becoming the next Superbowl quarterback. But at least parents and kids are finding another venue to bond in and spending time with each other, and we should be happy
