No matter what type of gamer you are, some parents are naturally concerned about gaming, thinking that it’s not useful at all, but there are many benefits to gaming and, in fact, some lesser-known benefits that can support our kids.
It Teaches Practicality
If you are of a certain age, you may think of video games purely as a form of escapism. The reality is that now there are a number of games that require practical skills. For example, the game Minecraft has a number of amazing benefits. It teaches children to explore new environments, work as a team, problem-solve, manage resources, and so much more. The great thing is that there’s a wide variety of tools children can learn, just by playing Minecraft and the many Minecraft survival servers on offer. When children play the right games, they become more practical and pragmatic, and this will translate into far more practical and pragmatic people.
It Increases Hand-Eye Coordination
Young children can benefit from video games in a wide variety of ways, and even games that appear to give no benefits can still help children with their hand-eye coordination. Games like FIFA require children to react quickly and use a combination of buttons to make players perform a number of movements. The more complex the moves, the better chance the child is going to increase their hand-eye coordination over time.
It Can Improve Reading Skills
Children as young as 6 may be chomping at the bit to play games, and you may feel that it’s not going to benefit them at such a young age, but the reality is that even if your child is not getting to grips with the nuances of playing a game, there’s a lot of reading involved that can, over time, increase your child’s reading skills. Many games such as Minecraft force your children to effectively “pedal harder,” to catch up with the rigors of the game. They need to know what things are, and over time, they will start to recognize patterns of words, and as their gaming skills increase, so will their level of comprehension and reading.
It Can Increase Social Skills
Older generations think that gaming is a solitary activity. It certainly can be, but you can now play games with friends. In fact, there are many stories of people who made friends online during lockdown and didn’t even meet in person until years later. The great thing about gaming is that it can help your child to be sociable on their terms. Younger children may still have a long way to go to come out of what they went through at home by themselves, and playing with people online allows them to dip their toe into this world and ensure they can slowly acclimatize to what being sociable actually means in this day and age.
Rather than thinking that gaming is not going to benefit your children in the slightest, these are a number of positives that could make a massive difference in the long run.
