Video Games and Kids
My Game Home
As a mother of one boy I couldn't imagine his life without video games.. My husband and I have been video gamers since we were young. Nintendo, Super Nintendo, N64, Playstation 1, Gamecube, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox one, Nintendo 3DS and too many tablets run through our daily lives currently. My son has grown up to understand, play and excel at them which I must say I'm extremely proud of.
As a video gaming child, he has grown to become very mechanically inclined, curious about how things work and his hand eye coordination is great. Also just loves Kinect games which is a bonus because it tires him out faster. Kinect games are going to be a hit this winter in our house. With these Canadian winters becoming colder and colder it'll be a fun exercise to do when you can't be outside for longer than 5 minutes without freezing.
How They See Death
The biggest thing I don't like is how they start thinking of death. For example, we have this big front window in our house and this unknown berry tree in front. The birds eat the berries, get drunk and fly into the window and die. Well my son and I were watching the birds hit one day and noticed 3 dead ones on the ground. He asked me when he was going to get up and I told him that he won't.. dead is dead you don't get back up after your dead, you're gone forever. It's not like video games. When your very old everybody dies. He understood as much as I think he could at that moment. But on the bright side, if you are there for your child to answer these questions and explain different aspects of the video games they are playing then it could be even more of a learning experience for them.
Better Changes
"A small study in the journal Current Biology found that playing action video games helped children with dyslexia read faster and with better accuracy.
Twelve hours behind the controller 'improved children's reading speed, without any cost in accuracy, more so than one year of spontaneous reading development and more than or equal to highly demanding traditional reading treatments,' the researchers write.
By improving attention span, video games lead to better reading skills." - Business Insider Australia
"Fast-paced games require quick thinking and fast reactions so you don't get killed. In real-life situations, active gamers have a better sense of what is going around them and are able to make decisions faster, according to scientists from the University of Rochester.
In one study, participants aged 18 to 25 were split into two groups. One group played 50 hours of first-person shooter games 'Call of Duty 2' and 'Unreal Tournament.' The other group played 50 hours of the simulator game 'The Sims 2.' The action game players made decisions 25% faster in a task unrelated to playing video games, without sacrificing accuracy.
'Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, that can make all the difference,' study researcher Daphne Bavelier said in a statement." - Business Insider Australia
Games are great for promoting concentration and control. They encourage trial and failure. Failure means that only the way they attempted failed and they should try another way. They also push the players beyond what they think they can do. I enjoy watching my son play, seeing how proud he is when he beats a level or got a big score is very rewarding. I feel it shows him that without giving up he can win.
Parents with Kids and Games
It is very important for the parents to be part of their kids experience with video games. Suggesting which games are right for their age, explaining what is happening (ei. death) and asking questions about how their kids are enjoying themselves and what they're learning. Helping them learn different ways of doing things to make their gameplay better. Then soon enough your kids will begin showing you things that maybe you never thought of, or that you already knew but were amazed that they figured it out themselves. Video games with your kids can be a very fun way to exercise (Kinect/move), learn and enjoy family time.
Geometry Dash, Favorite Game
Xbox one:
The Lego Movie
Boomball (Kinect)
Fantasia Music Evolved
Fruit Ninja Kinect 2
Minecraft
Octodad
Rayman Legends
So Many Me
Max The Curse of Brotherhood
My Sons Favs
Nintendo WiiU/Wii
Nintendoland
Duckhunt
Super Mario Galaxy
Spongebob Squarepants Planktons Robotic Revenge
Super Mario Bros U
Kirby
Go Diego Go Safari Rescue
N64:
Super Mario64
Banjo-Tooie
SNES:
Super Mario World
Donkey Kong
Mario Party
Mario Paint
Yoshis Island
Nintendo (Original)
Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt
Excitebike
Batman
Windows/Windows Phone
Sesame Street Touch and Learn TV
Toca Kitchen
My Talking Tom
Where's my water?
Brain Pop jr.
Cut the rope
Happy Chef
My Very Hungry Caterpillar
KidEcook
