As parents and careers, we want to know for sure that everything we do is beneficial for our children. The food they eat, when and where they sleep, the people they play with, and even the adults in their lives.
Helping them to grow up well-adjusted and safe is a goal.
Another goal that often comes up is helping our children to achieve academically.
One of the great things about that goal is that there are so many amazing options like apps, tech, books, classes, clubs, online courses, and new tech like speech recognition tech for kids, coding, and more.
But what is the benefit of letting kids play games in terms of education?
Reading
Almost all games have speech and text; if the game is within your child’s age group, the text will be easy to read and can help support them in their learning journey.
Even those children who seem reluctant to read books may take part in reading text in a game – because most of the time, it is essential for success.
There are also many apps that have gamified the reading process and offer rewards for children who unlock new levels within the game for their comprehension.
Of course, reading in games isn’t a replacement for books – but it has been shown to help!
Social
Not everyone can be a real-world social butterfly, but millions of people have found their own social groups online.
If your child is the right age for playing online games (with supervision and parental controls), they might find it easier to relate to the people that they play with.
Not only that, but the most popular games often become subject for conversation in friend groups – and that little bit of common ground can help with fitting it.
It is important that before your child is let loose in the world of online gaming, you try out some of the games for yourself. This will allow you to find out if the community is known as toxic.
Imagination
One of the biggest hits when it comes to imagination and creativity has been Minecraft, although there are other games where your child can build an entire world.
In the real world, building blocks, LEGO, and other buildable kits help with motor skills and understanding a little bit about physics.
But games take away things like gravity – and make it so your child can build pretty much anything they can imagine.
Minecraft is also reported to have positive effects on children’s visual-spatial skills.
Problem-Solving
Most games will have a range of problems that need to be solved, from how to create a code that moves the player’s character forward to breaking down walls and solving puzzles in Zelda.
Problem-solving skills are some of the most coveted and used skills in many career paths and in life. Often games come with gentle hints, but they won’t offer a solution – meaning the player will have to find the solution themselves.
When the issue of playing online presents itself, here are some handy tips that you can use to keep them safe: Keeping the Kids Safe Online with the ESET Online Safety Campaign – chelseamamma.co.uk.