Can you give any good reasons why parents should allow their children to play video games?

Answer 1

There are several good reasons:

1. Hand eye coordination - Using the controller and the various buttons is key to being successful in any game
2. Strategy - Many games have a goal and objective that you are trying to achieve. The games usually have multiple levels that reward you for achieving various milestones.
3. Teamwork - There are online communities that can work together to solve common goals
4. Sense of Achievement - When you complete a task or "beat the game," it is a great feeling

I would avoid the shoot em up games and stick more with the strategic or sports games. The only caution I would give would be to watch the amount of time that they spend on it. A good game is designed to be solved with 40 to 60 hours of play (not continuous).

They can actually be good if not abused.

Answer 2

It All Depends On What Video Game You Let Your Child Play, But I'll Get Back To That In A Second..

Many Will Say It Will Help Hand-Eye Coordination, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Stuff That 'Everything Bad Is Good For You' Would Tell You, And It's All True, If You Play Today's Video Games, And Even Past Video Games Like The Zelda Series From Ninendo, There's A Lot Of Thinking In Them On How To Go From Point A To Point B. Games Are Not Sucking The Lives Out Of Children, It's Giving Them A Mental Exercise, granted, If They Use A Strategy Guide, That's A Little Different..

But There Are Other Video Games Out There That Really Do Give An Exercise Of Both Brains And Muscle, And Example Of Brains Would Be Nintendo's 'Brain Age: Train Your Brain In Minutes A Day!', Which, Developed By Japanese Neuroscientist Dr. Kyuta Kawashima, Makes Better Blood-Flow Through The Brain Based Off Studies Showing That Simple Reading Aloud And Math Problems Actually Stimulates The Brain..
An Example Of A More Physical Exercise Would Be Sony's EyeToy, Developed By Dr. Richard Marks, That Uses A WebCam Plugged Into The PS2 And Basically, Your Body Is The Controller, Using It To Punch Away Ninjas, Boxing, Doing A Cook-Off, Play Volleyball, etc..

And With Games Becoming More Get-Up-And-Play And More Main-Stream, Like With Nintendo's New 'Wii' System (using a motion-based controller), I Don't See Why A Parent Wouldn't Want To Get Their Child Into Gaming, And I Bet It Will Also Get You The Parent Into Gaming..

Which Brings Me To Another Point:
Video Games Are A Good Release.. From That Hard-Day's Work, You Just Want To Get A Rest, well, Why Not Pick Up A Video Game? I Even Believe Steven Johnson's 'Everything Bad Is Good For You' Book Even Went Into This.. Again, Help Your Brain Out A Bit And Play A Little Puzzle Game Or Go Do The Brain-Specific Brain-Training Games Like 'Big Brain Academy' For The Nintendo DS.. Or A Game Even Deeper Like Linden Lab's 'Second Live', Where You Can Actually Get Quite A Virtual-Vacation With User-Made Lands..

And, With All These Good Points In Gaming, It's Just Always Down To Where To Limit It..
Video Games Are Often Blamed For 'Brainwashing' Kids With Addiction And Promoting Violence, Where Fact Of The Matter Is That It's You Who Is In Control Of It. You Control What You Children Gets And Sees, So For Younger Gamers, Avoid 'Mature' Rated Games And Up With The 'M' Label On It, And To Avoid Addiction, Set Up Times, Make It A Game Itself For When They Need To Stop Playing..

For Other Tips And Tidbits, And Of Course Further Help, I'm Always Available To Contact!

Answer 3

All great answers

if i were allowed play video games as a youth then maybe i would have been something more than a lil hellion while hanging out trying out all those wonderful sins in the world.

Then again what do i know, perhaps those experiences are better in character building for some old fashion hard learned lessons that video games can not instil in a young curiouis mind.

All in all the short answer is this, whether allowed or not children will do what they please. After all they know everything :)

Answer 4

The only good reason I know of for playing video games is they improve hand and eye coordination.

Almost all video games involve killing, destroying or maiming the opponent/s. I believe these game program the avid players to accept killing etc to the point they have no guilt of acting out in real life and killing someone. I don't know if there are any statistics out on such occurrences but I am sure this has happened more than once.

Don't we have enough killing going on in this world with wars various places in the world, gang violence rampant in many places, and the willful destroying of other people's property without having to have the virtual world of video games as well? It makes me sick to my stomach every time I hear of more road side bombs in Iraq that kill and injure not only the military there but also many others. I used to agree with governments when they invaded a country as a "piece keeping force" but no longer. They have become legal thugs in a countries civil war.

I am off the subject I know but I feel that these violent video games are at the root cause of much of the violence around the world.

Answer 5

For the simple fact that it is a way for children to express themselves if they are not artistic and can't write to save their lives. When I say can't write I'm not talking about illiteracy, I'm talking about them not being able to get into it, and if you can't get into what you're writing you shouldn't do it in the first place.

I believe that kids should be allowed to play whatever damn game they want, so long as their parents are there to put it into context for them. I've been playing video games since I was little and they haven't phased me one bit. I've played Quake II and Doom and I've never once had the urge to go shoot up a public place. Because I was able to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Kids that can't do that shouldn't be able to play any game, and their parents should teach them how to do that. If their parents won't or can't teach them that then take the kids away from the parents because the parents are mentally neglecting the kids. That's where I stand and if you don't like it, well that's fine.

Answer 6

It does develop a sort of a technological coordination. Hand to eye in the sense that they learn to manipulate very sensitive and increasingly complex controls. And frankly? Kids are going to play video games whether a parent allows them to or not. The saturation in society is just too great. As a parent, you get to choose which games, where, and how often. You get to decide the level of supervision. You don't get to flip the on/off switch. That's just asking a kid to rebel.

Answer 7

First off, let me say thank you for calling. We're here, live in NYC, on Times Square, and we are here *for YOU.* This is an excellent question because as a parent it's hard to know what is good for kids, what is not, and what to limit. I think video games, like most things, have pros and cons. My fellow Brainiacs and I have discussed this and we can think of several good things.

- Video games develop eye-hand coordination, an important developmental skill.
- Some video games help kids learn to work as a team, important skills for future employment.
- Video games teach children to think strategically and to solve problems.
- Video games -- especially those on PCs -- can help children develop keyboarding prowess.

Thank you for your question! Happy answering,
~Tia~
Live from the big, purple brain
http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/asktheplanet/brain.html
CALL THE BRAIN - 212-382-3592

Answer 8

It gives them hand and eye cordination, it also allows them to think and use their mind, they can play learning video games which will help stimulate their brain more, and it keeps them from watching tv which can be a bad thing if they want to watch it all the time. The more they play with the video games, the more hand and eye cordination, and the more they learn if the game is a learning video game.

Answer 9

Depending on the games, it will increase your child's intelligence. I have repeatedly been able to answer Jeopardy questions from the games I have played, and they have increased my vocabulary and leadership skills. If you let them play the Simulation games where they have to create towns, cities, etc... they will have an increased knowledge of the world they live in. You must still control how much they play of course. I have read that Fps games increase the reaction speed of individuals, but you can do that with paintball also.

Answer 10

a lot of people are saying things like hand-eye coordination, but i have something much more usefull. With the nintendo DS especially, games have been created to increase your reaction speed to mathematical questions, and help them with easier critical thinking. Then theres rpg's where you play as a seperate person in the game, and some of those teach kids morals, like books almost.