If you worry about your kids playing video games too much, the latest research may be of some help in knowing when to pull the plug and what types of games to encourage. According to recent studies, video games have some definite benefits if the time is capped off at no more than 21 hours a week–quite a chunk of time! In addition, there are two other questions you can ask that may help guide your family’s selection of specific games--
Question #1—Is it Hard Enough?
The primary ingredient for making those hours of playing games beneficial is making sure they are hard enough, so hard that players fail 80% of the time. This factor goes along with the idea of giving your child a growth mindset where emphasis is placed intentionally on what learning occurs rather than the degree of “success.” Sal Kahn, founder of the Kahn Academy, has a video on “why he will never tell his son that he’s smart.” Go see why at this link to his two-minute video. Failure is not only inevitable, it is also essential for helping your child embrace the idea that it isn’t really failure at its core anyway, but growth.
If the video games are hard enough, the child learns three key things:
1. To not give up. Persistence. And persistence is by all accounts the number one character quality operating in high achievers.
2. To be creative, invent workarounds, investigate alternative methods such as searching online for better ways to achieve the goals of the game.
3. To collaborate, to swap game strategies with friends, to make new friends, to get input (whether they are in China or the house next door).
This last point leads us to Question #2--
Question #2—Does the Game Require Collaboration?
Research indicates that the best games are also those which are collaborative in nature, team-based games rather than just solitary competition. So many jobs require the ability to work closely with a group, and yet group skills are often neglected in schools and homeschools. As a homeschooling mom, I don’t remember requiring many team-style projects for my kids’ schoolwork. My children were often doing the same lesson alongside each other, of course, but collaboration was not usually necessary. Perhaps my son wouldn’t have hated those team projects at Georgia Tech so much if he’d had more experience with collaboration at home! Today, his software engineering job requires teamwork too.
Nothing in life is a solitary affair after all. As Andy Andrews says, we need each other for encouragement, information, and opportunities, as well as to fulfill our built-in need for social interaction. The Bible never uses the word “collaborate,” but I think it qualifies for relating to each other in love, don’t you?
Challenging My Assumptions
As a homeschooling mom, I was used to thinking video games were The Enemy trying to steal my children away from more productive activities. Of course, we must still strike a healthy balance, but these findings were eye-opening for me.
Some links if you want more
In case you’d like to read more on this topic, here are two articles I liked that best challenged my own assumptions.
• The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games from RaisesSmartKid.com-- Games develop, logic, problem solving, inductive reasoning, and much more.
• Video Games Can Actually Be Good For Kids from The Huffington Post― How video games have been shown to help with depression, anxiety, and also ADHD.
Unplugging is still important
In today’s culture, where electronics are so abundant and consuming, it’s almost impossible to overemphasize the importance of unplugging your kids. Children need stretches of time where they are unable to push a button and be instantly entertained. Otherwise, they simply do not get creative. I’m a big fan of planned boredom! But at the same time, it is encouraging to know that video games can be healthy and beneficial and not mind-numbing as I once thought. As in most things, the answer seems to come back to seeking a balance.
Laurie White is an author, teacher, and mom to three kids who were homeschooled k-12. She writes books and other supplemental materials for homeschoolers including her popular and award-winning King Alfred’s English which combines history and English in a highly entertaining format for grades 7 and above. For more info and access to Laurie's free downloads go to www.TheShorterWord.com
Question #1—Is it Hard Enough?
The primary ingredient for making those hours of playing games beneficial is making sure they are hard enough, so hard that players fail 80% of the time. This factor goes along with the idea of giving your child a growth mindset where emphasis is placed intentionally on what learning occurs rather than the degree of “success.” Sal Kahn, founder of the Kahn Academy, has a video on “why he will never tell his son that he’s smart.” Go see why at this link to his two-minute video. Failure is not only inevitable, it is also essential for helping your child embrace the idea that it isn’t really failure at its core anyway, but growth.
If the video games are hard enough, the child learns three key things:
1. To not give up. Persistence. And persistence is by all accounts the number one character quality operating in high achievers.
2. To be creative, invent workarounds, investigate alternative methods such as searching online for better ways to achieve the goals of the game.
3. To collaborate, to swap game strategies with friends, to make new friends, to get input (whether they are in China or the house next door).
This last point leads us to Question #2--
Question #2—Does the Game Require Collaboration?
Research indicates that the best games are also those which are collaborative in nature, team-based games rather than just solitary competition. So many jobs require the ability to work closely with a group, and yet group skills are often neglected in schools and homeschools. As a homeschooling mom, I don’t remember requiring many team-style projects for my kids’ schoolwork. My children were often doing the same lesson alongside each other, of course, but collaboration was not usually necessary. Perhaps my son wouldn’t have hated those team projects at Georgia Tech so much if he’d had more experience with collaboration at home! Today, his software engineering job requires teamwork too.
Nothing in life is a solitary affair after all. As Andy Andrews says, we need each other for encouragement, information, and opportunities, as well as to fulfill our built-in need for social interaction. The Bible never uses the word “collaborate,” but I think it qualifies for relating to each other in love, don’t you?
Challenging My Assumptions
As a homeschooling mom, I was used to thinking video games were The Enemy trying to steal my children away from more productive activities. Of course, we must still strike a healthy balance, but these findings were eye-opening for me.
Some links if you want more
In case you’d like to read more on this topic, here are two articles I liked that best challenged my own assumptions.
• The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games from RaisesSmartKid.com-- Games develop, logic, problem solving, inductive reasoning, and much more.
• Video Games Can Actually Be Good For Kids from The Huffington Post― How video games have been shown to help with depression, anxiety, and also ADHD.
Unplugging is still important
In today’s culture, where electronics are so abundant and consuming, it’s almost impossible to overemphasize the importance of unplugging your kids. Children need stretches of time where they are unable to push a button and be instantly entertained. Otherwise, they simply do not get creative. I’m a big fan of planned boredom! But at the same time, it is encouraging to know that video games can be healthy and beneficial and not mind-numbing as I once thought. As in most things, the answer seems to come back to seeking a balance.
Laurie White is an author, teacher, and mom to three kids who were homeschooled k-12. She writes books and other supplemental materials for homeschoolers including her popular and award-winning King Alfred’s English which combines history and English in a highly entertaining format for grades 7 and above. For more info and access to Laurie's free downloads go to www.TheShorterWord.com
