How Helpful Are Video Games in Child Development? Have you wondered this?
Much has been said about the dangers of video games in children’s lives. From making them potato couches to limiting their outlook on life. But perhaps parents should realize there is no way of keeping children from these games. Smartphones, computers, and tablets have become integral learning tools for children today. This writer who works as an author at Casinoble thinks video games can be useful learning tools in several ways:
How Helpful Are Video Games in Child Development?
Let’s take a look.
Teach Problem-Solving Skills
Children must learn to overcome game challenges to get to the finish, beat the opponents, or proceed to the next level. A game teaches a child how to search for resources, negotiate with team mates, plan a course of action and try different approaches to a stubborn problem.
Different game plays force a child to decide, develop strategy and anticipate the consequences of different actions. All these are important problem-solving skills for a child that also quicken a child’s learning in different areas.
Provoke Interest in Topics
Games like the Dawn of Man get a child interested in subjects outside the game. How was life before people knew how to use fire? Where did people learn how to make houses? They will feel the urge to research this information on the internet, in books, the library and the media. It is not just in history, but also in other popular video game themes like science fiction.
This is the same curiosity you get when you want to learn more games at casinoble.
Help Build Relationships
Video games help children form relationships online and offline. In multiplayer games, they have to work with teammates to achieve specific objectives. They learn to trust, take lead, and follow when necessary.
They build relationships offline when playing in a group as friends. Competitive games such as FIFA are very popular group games for older children and teens. They form bonds and learn how to express themselves in a group.
Teach Healthy Competition
Video games give children the space to prove themselves against their peers. They provide an alternative arena to physical sports. A child may not be good at soccer on the pitch, but a master playing FIFA on the PlayStation. The child gets equal bragging rights like the peers on the pitch. Video game play involves the usual jockeying and heckling that come with competition. It helps a child learn healthy competition and how to take it in stride.
Cultivate Leadership Skills
Multiplayer video games provide a good platform for children to exercise their leadership skills. Children often take turns playing team lead roles such as sergeants or ship captains. These roles involve motivation, persuasion, and mediation. It gets better when they are leading diverse teams in background and age because it adds to their relationship-building skills.
Provoke Creativity
Higher levels of problem solving some with an added advantage in higher creativity. A study was done on the impact of video games, TV, and playing a racing game. Children who played a video game (Minecraft) showed higher levels of creativity than those who engaged in the other two hobbies. The conclusion was that there are types of video games that are helpful for opening up a child’s mind to different possibilities.
Opportunity for Parent/child Bonding
Playing with a child gives a parent the opportunity to interact, engage, and bond. A child is more relaxed in this space and ready to talk about issues in her/his life. Games that allow for tag teams help strengthen the bonds when children feel they have their back. Some games like instrument playing games can help parents share their skills.
Video games are very useful learning aids when used in a controlled environment. They develop life skills and enhance the speed of learning by forcing a child to overcome challenges. They are evidently important for a child’s growth and education.
How Helpful Are Video Games in Child Development? is a feature post
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