Spend more than five minutes on a bad Google search and you can find plenty of anecdotal evidence from the 90s and early 00s about how video games are bad for kids, promote violent behaviour and other distasteful buzzwords designed to promote an agenda of fear and misunderstanding… often bandied around by politicians and journalists who have barely even seen a video game, let alone played one. It can be very worrying for any parent, established or first time alike, to filter out truth from rumour, and so my best advice to anyone thinking of buying a video games console for their child for the first time: play it with them.
There are many benefits, proven by a variety of case studies around the world, that your child can get from having access to video games and a gaming device. For even the simplest of games problem solving and taking ownership of your own choices are at least two key skill areas that you learn very quickly while playing them. Basic reading comprehension skills can quickly be built up over time, as nearly all video games rely on information on screen to communicate what you need to do next, or which button to press, or which area you are in. Indeed, usually the barrier for many younger children playing more advanced games is being able to read what is on screen, not the difficulty of the task itself.
Of course, there is a difference between ‘enough’ screen time to see a benefit and ‘too much’ that it starts being detrimental, so this is where, especially at a younger age, parental control comes in. There are many ways for parents to monitor their kids’ screen time, from setting parental locks on account so that only a certain number of hours per day can be spent on them, to having to have you input a password for them to be able to play, meaning they can only play when and if you are happy for them to do so. The recommended amount of time for kids around 5 years old is no more than 1 hour a day, though communal play with friends or parents can be used to extend this time, as a shared social activity. Video games often become a destress and escape for kids between school and mealtimes, so provided they are also making time for homework and other activities like sports clubs you don’t usually have to worry unless they are spending more time on video games than anything else. Be involved with your kids’ digital lives, use videogames and devices as a tool for learning as much as a distraction.
In terms of what games to play, to the uninitiated it can feel like a minefield. There are plenty of games that are ‘free to play’ but with micro-transactions (in-game payments) for things like Season Passes and costumes for their characters. While this can be great in terms of initial outlay for you, meaning you can buy a console or tablet and not necessarily have to spend too much on game discs, the quality control on most free games is fairly bad and concentrated towards making you want to spend money through imposed limits such as slow stamina recharge times before you can play again or paid-for retries if you fail a level. Be aware of these and use them as a way of limiting play time. If Candy Crush lets your child only play for half an hour before requiring gems you need to buy to continue playing, that’s half an hour of screen time accounted for and gives a set time to stop and have a break.
Most commercially available games you buy as discs and chips for consoles don’t use the same model time, meaning they can be played for longer and also usually offer a much better experience in terms of level design, storyline and problem solving. Gaming icons like Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog became as well loved as they are because their games are genuinely good, fun to play, encourage problem solving and improve hand to eye coordination. Minecraft allows you to build, change and discover the world before you at mostly your own pace. Games like Fortnite, Overwatch and Paladins are all about working as a team and communicating properly, as well as coping with the frustration of losing.
Gaming is designed to be fun but is not necessarily just a distraction. Find time to play with your kids. Many multiplayer games such as Mario Kart and Mario Party are designed to be played and enjoyed as a group sat on the sofa. Football mad? FIFA allows you to play when it’s raining outside and can be just as fulfilling playing on the same side against the computer as it is playing against each other with your own favourite teams. Not every game is about wanton destruction or even involves killing people. Splatoon is a great ‘shooter’ game, but while you can splat your opponents with paint, the aim of the game is to paint the level your team’s colours and attacking other people is secondary. Fancy a spot of game design? Mario Maker is all about making your own levels and sharing them around the world, and lets you download and play levels other people have made.
Never be afraid to ask more about what a game contains before downloading or buying it. YouTube and similar social media links exist for almost every game available at the moment, and often the most popular ones with your kids are those they have watched walkthrough or content videos for.
Check them out yourself, make your own judgments based off the things you see on screen and what the person presenting the video is saying and how they are reacting.
In store, ask one of our staff, or check out the PEGI game rating to get a snapshot of its content and why it has been rated as such. The PEGI (Pan-European Game information) rating is much like film classification. It rates the age suitability of the content and themes, not the difficulty or ‘popularity’ of a game. Mario is a perennial 3+ but is suitable for age 5 to 105! Fortnite is a 12+ but you’ll struggle to find many people over the age of 18 who play it. If you are ok with your 8-year-old watching a 12 rated movie, then most 12 rated games will be more than fine in terms of content for you. Games are on the whole rated far more harshly than movies, and even an off-hand reference to alcohol, sex or tobacco can land a game a 16+, while likely being tamer than a PG-12 Dwayne-Johnson led action movie.
For many, the benefits of allowing your kids to get into gaming far outweigh the problems. Like most things, in moderation is the key phrase. Video games can foster children’s imaginations, introduce them to fantastic and creative worlds and allow them to learn to cooperate and work together with others; while also benefiting from being more computer literate and being better able to use the devices that are becoming more and more a requirement in the modern workplace. Playing video games has never been more popular – it’s a $160 billion industry this year – so it’s natural that your kids will likely ask you to get them a console. Understanding how to get the balance right, and by getting involved, could unlock a whole lot of family fun.
This article is in partnership with Just Games.
