Do you let your kids play online games? I know a few moms who are still opposed to their kids playing online games. I am not surprised though because there are many disadvantages when kids do become obsessed with online gaming, especially when they are still very young. And it’s very easy to forget about how much time our kids are spending on their gaming apps when we are so busy doing our things as well.
However, I found out that letting them play while we help them manage their time wisely can bring good things to them as kids, and to us too as their parents. Let me point out a few of these:
A. helps in improving hand–eye coordination and problem-solving skills, and more.
I don’t have doubts about this. I am often amazed when I look at my girls when they play fast-paced games, how their tiny little fingers cope in the fast click requirements and how fast they can anticipate the moves of their opponents. I can also feel how focused they are when gaming. After long hours of studying, I allow my kids to play an hour or two when they want to, which I think let them recharge and de-focus from school or personal stressors. I noticed that after they play, my kids are a lot more open and talkative about what they did in school and their personal happenings. They are also more excited, yes, excited to finish their home works. The creative juices flow after enough time they spent in gaming.
What’s good nowadays is that there are plenty of online games that can be played even by smaller kids that can help them learn while they enjoy gaming. Most kids, even my kids, don’t like Math a lot, but this fast paced Math Balls game from Calculators.org is quite fun and make little kids excited as they pop the balls without knowing that they are actually doing Math behind the scene.
B. helps in developing communication and interaction skills
As parents, as much as we want our kids to have good communication and interaction skills, we also need to teach them the right ways and safe ways of doing so. But once we cleared the arena and we’ve set the right parameters and restrictions, our kids can actually learn social skills that we won’t be able to teach with our limited geography. Even games as simple as UNO, which is actually one of our favorite card games, your kids can play online with their friends and relatives and have fun even when they are far apart.
C. allows us parents to play with our kids
This is the best part for me as parent when it comes to online gaming. Having fun time with my kids as we get to play together becomes more precious to us when they grow older and older. Chess and Tic-tac-Toe are just some of the classic games that we usually play together in a single computer or in my mobile phone when we are stuck in traffic. These are the moments that I grab and take as opportunity to pick my kids’ minds, ask them questions that they won’t mind answering since they are focused in the game, and there I find many things about my kids that they won’t usually tell me when we are just hanging out. This trick works no matter what age your kids are, toddlers or teens, I can assure you.
Online games out there are just like fruits for picking and our kids can pick them when they are at home or not. Our roles as parents is to make sure that our kids know how to be safe when they are using the internet and playing games in it. Don’t let those thousands of internet safety warnings and advice be wasted by ignoring them. Take advantage of the fun and benefits of online games, most especially if they are free, and let your kids grow (even with you as their gaming partner) in a virtual environment that is safe and exciting.
