Kids these days are constantly on their phones, playing games. It’s no wonder that adults often worry about the negative effects of online gaming on children.
But wait! There are actually quite a few benefits when it comes to kids and video games. In this blog post, we will outline just some of the benefits of online gaming for children so you can decide if it’s worth the risk or not.
- Develops mental, physical, and social skills
Playing games has become an integral part of the daily lives of children. Games are not just meant for entertainment but also act as a medium to teach them many skills that they would learn in school or college eventually.
While playing video games, children engage themselves actively while developing their cognitive and physical abilities at the same time.
It teaches them about group dynamics while working towards a common goal. The sense of achievement they get after completing goals contributes to their self-esteem which is important for young minds.
Neal Taparia, founder of Hearts.land explains, “We see our young users regularly enjoy our social and chat features while playing hearts. Given the anonymous format, kids are able to express themselves confidently, which translates into real-life social skills.”
- Practice making decisions in a safe environment
Many children are faced with real-life situations where they have to make decisions on their own, but this can be overwhelming if it’s the first time your child is left alone or allowed to do things by themselves. An example would be when you drop off your child at school.
For the first few weeks, you may have to stay and help them adjust so that they can get used to it before you leave them be. If a person is not experienced with making decisions on their own, then there’s always the fear of consequences when something goes wrong.
- Encourage problem-solving in a virtual environment
Children who play online games may have higher self-esteem and better problem-solving skills. The virtual environment of the game encourages problem-solving and critical thinking in children, which can help them become better at these skills for real life.
Online games are often set up with an end goal or quest that players must complete winning the game. This goal is not always clear right away but when you get lost along your path, you need a certain level of problem-solving to come back on track.
Additionally, in some games players interact with other non-player characters (NPC). These NPCs may help or hinder the player’s progress and require conversations that will lead to an action within the game world. All these elements create a virtual environment where children can learn new skills like problem-solving and critical thinking.
- Develops communication skills through teamwork and communication with teammates
Communication skills are developed through teamwork and communication with teammates. For younger kids, this is more for fun than anything else but as kids get older they can really learn how to work together on a team towards the same goals even if some of them don’t know each other well in real life.
Kids will have opportunities to talk with each other and their teammates to coordinate, communicate strategies of how they are going to play together, share successes in the game when things go well. Sometimes team members will have different strengths which can be used depending on what is needed during a particular round or challenge within the game.
Playing with your child allows them to socialize through teamwork and communication which is an excellent way to develop their early skills needed when it comes time for the real world.
- Improve attention and focus
According to studies, playing online games has been known to improve mental function. It helps with focus, attention, and memory retention due to the number of different cognitive tasks that are required in order for you to play a game successfully.
The visual aspect of playing an online game is also proven to stimulate brain activity which enhances your child’s learning abilities.
When it comes to kids and online games, parents can sometimes wonder if their child is getting into trouble or becoming addicted. However, playing fun video games that encourage creativity and socialization may actually improve a child’s mental health more than you realize! In fact, some studies have shown that…
- Improve their computer literacy skills through playing online games
Online games for kids are a great way to improve their computer literacy skills. These activities can be enjoyed at home or even in the classroom by teachers who want to give students some fun ways of learning about various topics through playing online games.
Jason Walker founder of GameQuarium.com says that gaming has brought about significant changes in children, especially those who need a little extra help mastering certain skills.
- Improve their motor skills through online games
A kid always has a lot of energy that needs to be channelized into something constructive. A good way for this could be playing an online game on the computer or smartphone, which requires physical activity and helps them develop their motor skills at the same time.
Did you know that games can also help your child develop their logical thinking and problem-solving skills? The more a kid plays online games, the better they get at multi-tasking too.
And these are all great qualities which will take them far in life! So let’s try to encourage our kids to play as many virtual reality games as possible.
This way, they can learn to be self-motivated and disciplined when it comes to achieving their goals in life too! So let’s consider this option for our kids when we want them to embrace digital learning at an early age itself. It will help improve the overall academic performance of your child also. The future belongs to kids who can adapt and learn easily. Let’s not keep them away from technology.
Kids these days are spending less time outside and more time on the internet. A lot of this has to do with how easy it is for kids to get online, but some blame should be given to parents who don’t monitor what their children spend their screen time doing.
Luckily, there are benefits of playing online games that make them worth your while. Playing video games can improve hand-eye coordination skills as well as cognitive abilities like memory recall and critical thinking skills which makes it a great way for kids to grow up smarter! And since they’re not out in the sun or running around at recess, they won’t have any chance of getting skin cancer either!
