I work all week, deal with meetings and deadlines, come home and do parent stuff. Three nights a week I play online with the same guys I've known for 15 years. It's where I decompress and hang out with my buddies. My wife made a comment about it being immature. It's not affecting my work, kids, or marriage, so why is this a problem? Anyone else deal with this judgment?
Your wife might not get that gaming is the equivalent of her book club or whatever she does to decompress. You're not a kid playing games, you're an adult using a hobby to manage stress. There's a difference and it's worth explaining that to her.
My garage is my thing, hers might be something else, but we all need that one place where we can just be ourselves for a bit. Don't apologize for it.
I still game but had to compromise with my wife on the timing and frequency. She felt ignored so I shifted to weekends when I'm not working and made sure gaming time never ate into family time. Helps if she sees you're being intentional about the balance.
Don't let her win you over on this one. Gaming is your mental break, and you NEED that. I coach little league and still play some games after the kids are down. It keeps me sane. You're not neglecting them if you've already put in the parent hours.
Nothing wrong with that at all. My Friday board game nights aren't that different - everyone needs something that's just theirs. Gaming with guys you actually care about beats scrolling mindlessly anyway.
Three nights a week with the same crew sounds perfect honestly. That's not growing out of it, that's smart decompression. Your wife might get it more if she saw how much you need that mental break.
Three nights a week sounds totally reasonable honestly. You're working, doing parent stuff, and then taking maybe 1-2 hours for yourself? That's not excessive, that's healthy. Your wife might get it more if you frame it as your decompression time.
Gaming saved my sanity when my daughter was first born. Single parenting is intense and I needed SOMETHING that was just for me. Gaming, fishing, whatever it is - you gotta have that outlet or you burn out.
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Three nights a week seems reasonable to me. That's not excessive given everything else you're managing. People who say you should 'grow out of' hobbies are usually the ones who expect you to become a robot.