Video games have become a common part of childhood, but many parents are worried that exposure to inappropriate game content could cause harm to their children. In spite of some of these worries, companies are hoping to take advantage of video games to help with classroom activity. Some researchers think that games with appropriate content have the potential to help children develop socially, physically and intellectually.
How Do Video Games Help Kids?
1. Make New Friends
Video games are now seen as a social activity since children will often invite friends over to play video games. Children want to play a game with others either in person or online, which encourages conversations with their peers. This also provides a topic of conversation that can be used to fuel socializing at school.
2. Sharpen Leadership Skills
When a group of children play video games together, different individuals will need to take the lead. This can help children to develop leadership skills such as motivating others in the group or persuading players to follow a particular strategy. Playing in groups also teaches children to mediate disagreements and to have confidence in their abilities to lead the others to victory.
3. Gain General Knowledge
A lot of video games including Age of Empires, Age of Mythology or Civilization contain historical elements or information about geography and other cultures, which can help children to spark an interest in these categories. As children start to pick up more complex language and information about a variety of topics from video games, it could encourage them to visit websites or museums where they could learn more, sparking a love for learning. These games also help to teach technical skills like creating maps.
4. Develop Interest in Sports
Learning new moves in sports-themed video games will often lead to children trying to master these skills in real life. Children who learn to enjoy sports through video games are likely to practice the moves that they have seen so they can get better at the game. Realistic video games have been linked to more time spent in playing sports or exercising in many children.
5. Help Reduce Pain
Doctors are starting to find that children that need to undergo a painful procedure manage it better if they play video games. The video game provides a distraction that allows the body to provide relief for the pain it is feeling. Those undergoing treatments like chemotherapy have been found to have lower blood pressure and decreased nausea if they play video games throughout their treatment.
6. Improve Dexterity
Video games are consistently linked to improvements in manual dexterity. Surgeons who play video games are usually able to perform operations more quickly and make fewer errors than those at the same ability level who do not play.
7. Hone Cognitive Skills
Video games can help to fuel cognitive development such as system thinking, pattern recognition and patience. Researchers believe that it is not the violence or provocative images in video games that make them addicting or appealing, but because of the challenge that they provide players. This mental stimulation can provide the perfect way to enhance mental dexterity.
8. Enhance Eyesight
Studies have found that shooting at targets in video games can improve vision. Researchers claim that learning to locate and aim at digital enemies provide the eyes with exercise while the constantly moving and quickly appearing targets help to develop data analysis. Researchers believe that this helps to show the potential action games have to correct poor eyesight.
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Precautions
Like most things in live, moderation is key when exposing your child to video games. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that screen time should be limited to 2 hours a day to prevent video games from limiting time for physical activity, household chores or schoolwork.
Also, supervise play to ensure that the video games your child has access to are acceptable for their age group. The Entertainment Software Rating Board provides a ranking system for video games for just this purpose. Games labeled “M” are mature games only recommended for those over 17 due to the strong language, violence or sexual content.