There is nothing more pressuring for parents than their children coming home and asking to play video games incessantly. Parents are pressured to say yes so that their children fit in with the crowd, and then that leads to parental guilt if they do allow their kids to spend time on their screens. It can feel like a no-win situation, but the thing is, you CAN let your kids loose on screen time – because there are plenty of reasons why you should!
There will be scaremongering articles by the media that tell you that screen time will rot your child’s brain and make them slow in school. There are horror stories about impressionable young children who are put in front of screens and are influenced by guns and fast cars. The truth is that there are two sides to every story and while yes, some children are influenced by video games for the worst, it doesn’t mean that you will have children who can’t handle screen time.
So, in this article we’re going to talk about six reasons that you SHOULD be allowing screen time to be a thing in your house. Your children won’t necessarily be reclusive, do badly in school or misbehave as a result, either. There are tons of things that video games can do for your children, and we’ve got six of them right here.
Improved Motor Skills
Some children have poor fine motor skills, and that is usually something that they grow into in time. The thing is, video games can really speed that up. Surgeons use video games to improve their dexterity, so why can’t you do the same thing for your children? Playing 30 minutes a day on video games can help your children to improve their fine motor skills and do better with activities outside of gaming. Video game controllers come in all shapes and sizes depending on the console that you have. Choose one that will work with their hands at the appropriate age, and don’t go nuts with how much time is spent on gaming.
Better Vision
We’ve all told our children to sit back from the TV or they’ll get “square eyes”, and the truth is the opposite. Of course, you don’t allow the kids to sit with their noses to the screen, but children have a better understanding of the differences between colours in the colour spectrum when they play video games. Shades of grey have meaning, compared with children who never play video games. The key is in monitoring the time spent gaming – the more you monitor it, the better!
Exercise
There are so many games out there, from Madalin Stunt Cars 2 to Let’s Dance! Some games require mental skill and other games require movement. If you want your children to get the best from their time gaming, then choose games with full-body movement. The workout they will get will improve their health and tire them out at the same time. Burning off excess energy is the job of a child, and you can ensure that they get that mini work out without it being mandated exercise!
Improved Memory Skills
When children are playing games, they are methodical in their movement and they are learning the same sequences over and over again. Their memory can improve, and when it comes to 3D games this is even more obvious. Video games can boost their memory and improve how they recall information, which are both valuable skills to develop from a young age.
Improvement In Attention Span
Children have the attention span of a gnat, every parent knows it. However, with plenty of action with video games, children can learn to hold their attention steady for longer. Games are frequently changing in their scenes, and children learn to follow storylines and watch stories play out. They focus when they are following a story, and this requires a lot of attention. The more that they focus, the more effort they put into other activities in life.
Feeling Interested In School
Contrary to popular belief, children can really improve in school when they have time on screens. There are games with historical modes, mathematical equations, reading and artwork to do, too. There are so many subjects covered in video games, even the driving ones have the strategy and skill required to do well.
Gaming is so much more than a trend. If you allow your children to play video games, you’re going to see improvements you didn’t think were possible!