Panda is honoring our player’s Moms today for Mother’s Day! For many of our Pandas, their Mothers are their biggest fans. Their love and support has been a tremendously positive influence in bringing our players to where they are today.
We interviewed a few of our Panda Moms to get to know how they supported their children’s pursuits into esports (along with some adorable photos as well).
1.) What was your first reaction to hearing your child wanting to pursue a career in esports and/or streaming?
One of the hardest bridges to cross in pursuing esports full time is sharing with your parents that you wish to pursue it. Here were some words of wisdom from our Panda Moms!
SmallAntMom stressed that it is crucial to take the time to see if you can support yourself through esports before taking the big jump. She mentioned, “Our advice to him was to take time to ensure that he could support himself and we suggested waiting a couple of months to see how things pan out as far as earning a living with esports and being able to support himself.”
Simply’s Mom, or also referred to as “Simpmom,” noted that her son’s happiness was what was most important to her in supporting his pursuit into content creation. “Ryan had just completed his college degree and was accepted into the masters’ program. He did not want to pursue his masters. He wanted to be a full time streamer. I asked him if he would do just one semester of the master’s program. At the end of the first semester, he said he wanted to quit the program and stream full time. I gave him my blessing. His happiness is paramount.”
2.) What was the turning point where you realized they made it or could make it?
Whether the signs came up when their children showed a passion for gaming when they were young or as they began to bud as content creators, our Panda Moms shared the moments when they realized that their child would make it.
WaDi’s Mom noted that she could sense that her son would blossom in esports from the very first tournament she attended to support him! She said, “Probably when I went to my first tournament and saw how well he was placing, and saw he was placing 1st at a lot of them, in the beginning of streaming I thought it was going to be short-lived, until I saw his followers going up and up and realizing how many people are enjoying his content.”
Anna Cramling’s Mom began to see her daughter’s potential to make it in esports when Anna began streaming and sharing her phenomenal Chess skills. “I could see how much Anna enjoyed what she was doing, that it came from her heart and I believe that is more important than anything else in life. She was so energetic and happy and managed to transfer her happiness to her followers.”
3.) What advice would you give to parents whose kid wants to enter esports or streaming?
Esports is one of the newest and most rapidly evolving industries today. But with how new and unpredictable the industry can be, it can be difficult to know how to support others who are looking to pursue a career in esports. Some of our Panda Moms had some very valuable advice for other parents who have children interested in entering esports/streaming.
Simpmom noted, “Whatever your child aspires to be whether it be an athlete, musician, or streamer (or whatever their dream is), love them and show a genuine interest in their hobbies/accomplishments. Cheer them on, be there when challenges or disappointments arise, tell them how proud you are of them. Allow them to chase their dreams.”
SmallAntMom had a similar direction with her advice, saying “in the end I feel that if your child wants to try something you should support them, if being a full time content creator doesn't work for them at least they will have tried and then move onto something else that interests them and they will know you were supporting them along the way.”
4.) Any embarrassing stories or anecdotes about your kid you'd like to share?
Of course, we had to ask if our Panda Moms had any hilarious stories about their children!
WaDi’s Mom shared a hilarious moment when her son was wrecking scrubs at a young age, saying “I knew he was going to be good at gaming because he was beating whole games at such a young age (4 years old) with little help, and he was already competitive at that age.”
Simpmom shared with us a photo of Simply when he dressed up as John Lennon for Halloween as a kid. “At a very young age Ryan loved the Beatles. One Halloween he wanted to be John Lennon. I told him your classmates may not know who you but the teachers will.”
-Kathryn “Ruffian” MacPherson