Stop Feeling Guilty, Parents: Video Games Have Benefits
It's true. Video
games can be good for kids. A study from the University of Oklahoma Health
Sciences Center, researchers discovered that playing active video games can
work as well as doing moderate exercises.
In "Good Games, Good Learning,"
University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor James Gee writes, "Good video
games incorporate good learning principles, principles supported by current
research in Cognitive Science (Gee 2003, 2004). Why? If no one could learn
these games, no one would buy them—and players will not accept easy, dumbed
down or short games."
Gee goes on to give examples of games that
weren't developed or branded as educational, but required problem solving in
order to succeed. Unlike a book where the reader is passive, video games
require action and thinking on the player's part or else the player can't reach
his goals. When the player fails or his character dies, he tries again taking a
different approach knowing the previous one didn't work.
Parents may not have control over applying
good learning and design principles into games. Instead, they can follow these
six tips in finding video
games that benefit kids.
- Go for "E" rated games: Pick games that the Entertainment Software Rating Board
(ESRB) rates as E for everyone or EC for early childhood. - Get physical: Games
keep coming out that require players to move around to interact with the
game. - Ask teachers and other parents for
recommendations: Schools sometimes have games
available for the kids to play during recess and free time. Other parents
may have checked out games you haven't, so you can get their insight
before spending money on a game. - Try before you buy:
Many web sites offer free downloads of games that you can play for 30 to
60 minutes before the trial runs out. This gives parents a chance to
assess the game before purchasing. - Go with known brands: Educational software publishers tend to put out reliable games that teach.
Such companies include Broderbund (The Learning Company), Riverdeep
Interactive Learning Limited, Scholastic and Vivendi Universal Games'
Knowledge Adventures. - Read reviews: Visit
Amazon, game and parenting web sites to read game reviews. Rely on more
than one source and plenty of reviews.
Of course, books and classroom learning
still remain vital. However, video games can challenge the brain because kids
have to figure out the rules of a game and navigate around the virtual world.
Steven Berlin Johnson, author of Everything
Bad Is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter,
writes that video games have become more complex, which compel gamers to
multitask and keep track of multiple objectives. So give you kids' bodies and
brains a good workout with the right games.
Meryl
K. Evans is a freelance writer. You can reach her at merylk@gmail.com or stop by www.meryl.net.