Why You Should Let Your Kids Game (Sometimes)
Obviously, kids need fresh air and the chance to run around more than anything else, but video games are often unfairly demonized amongst parents, which is such a shame because they have so many potential benefits for your kids when played in moderation. Not convinced? Check out these very real benefits of gaming for children:
Improves visual-spatial skills
For young children, playing age-appropriate video games can actually help to improve their visual-spatial skills due to the fact they often have to navigate around a virtual landscape. Games like Minecraft are particularly good for this, which is why it is a good choice for young kids, just make sure you have all the settings right and you play with them!
Boosts brainpower
Yes, gaming really can help your children to boost their brainpower. Whether they’re playing Animal Crossing or online motorcycle games, your children will need to use their critical thinking skills to beat the level on. They’ll also need to engage their memory to ensure that they make the right moves at the right time and get around the game scape effectively. Numerous studies have shown that these kinds of activities can help to improve memory and critical thinking skills in the real world too, so there really is no need to feel bad about letting your kids play Animal Crossing for 15 minutes when you need to tidy up or whatever!
Boost reading skills
Some studies have found that a gaming hobby can boost the reading skills of children by a small, but not insignificant amount, probably because kids need to be able to read instructions and understand text-based clues if they want to be successful in many of the most popular games. Really, some of the best games are like interactive storybooks, which isn’t a bad thing at all.
Improves sociability
Okay, so there’s nothing like actually getting out there and engaging with their parents, friends, and family to turn your kid into a social human being, but for various reasons, that’s a bit difficult now, and actually, video games are a great way of plugging the social gap by allowing children to talk to each other online as they play fantasy football or explore new and exciting lands virtually. It really can be good for them as long as they do get out when they can too.
Career opportunities
Okay, so this may be a long shot, but many older kids have found themselves able to earn a living from gaming, whether by playing competitive e-sports or using the skills they’ve built up by playing regularly to get into the industry. In fact, some teens have made millions of dollars playing video games; the world is changing and there is no point in trying to pretend otherwise because the digital world, and gaming, in particular, holds many opportunities for young people.
As long as you monitor their access and make sure it’s not all they ever do, gaming really can be very beneficial for your kids, so let them play (sometimes)!
