The Social Benefits of Kids’ Games

If you are buying a gift for your kids, computer games most likely top their wish list. But aren’t online kids games supposed to be violence-ridden mind candy that rot kids’ brains and turn them into asocial zombies?  At least, that’s what received wisdom says about computer games. And since parents tend to focus more on the potential dangers than the possible benefits of anything that affects their child, it is natural to ignore the fact that online kids’ games are a normal part of 21st century childhood. In fact, many parents automatically assume that computer games are bad for their child.

But the truth of the matter is, you – the parent – can actually use computer games as a powerful tool to help your child develop several crucial life skills. Over the last few years, researchers have been studying the emotional, mental and social effects of gaming and have come up with surprising results – computer games have a number of social benefits that largely go unnoticed in the deluge of media reports about the downsides of kids’ games.

Kids’ Games and Social Skills – Perception or Reality

Here are some of the social benefits associated with online kids’ games:

• Cooperation

According to statistics, about 62% of online gamers prefer to play with others. These findings run contrary to popular perception that online games promote asocial behavior among kids. In fact, research shows that an increasingly greater number of online kids’ games are designed to encourage kids to be more cooperative. Players are expected to develop leadership skills, delegate responsibility and work as part of a team. Even violent computer games reward players who control their aggressiveness, keep a cool head and cooperate with others.

• Increased social interaction

Players get hooked to kids’ games because of their rich storylines and the lure of mental challenges, but what makes gaming hugely popular is the opportunity to socialize with like-minded individuals. Many kids build casual as well as meaningful friendships with fellow gamers during the time they spend playing multiplayer games and through online game communities. Avid gamers say that chatting with competitors or partners as they play adds to their enjoyment of the game, lends a sense of camaraderie and prevents the game from becoming predictable and monotonous. Kids who partner up with a fellow gamer tend to experience greater satisfaction when they overcome a difficult challenge during game play.

• Staying connected

An oft-overlooked benefit of online kids’ games communities is that they offer players a chance to stay connected within existing real-world relationships as well. When your child’s friends or family members live miles away, staying connected can be challenging. But now, cousins or uncles and nephews or even grandparents and grandchildren can talk about the day as they battle it out over a fun online game.

And that’s how kids’ games have managed to redefine the social lives of players!

Online Kids Games Can Benefit Dyslexic Kids

Having a child diagnosed with dyslexia can be a traumatic experience for parents. If you are one of them, you have trawled through the internet hundreds of times and talked to teachers and therapists for ways to help your child overcome the condition. But wading through traditional dyslexia programs and treatments can be a bit overwhelming at times. And most kids tire of them after a while. 

That, of course, does not mean your child’s unique educational needs should be ignored – there are plenty of alternative options to help kids with dyslexia cope with it without being pigeon-holed. And the newest kid on the block, as far as dyslexia therapy is concerned, is kids games online. Yes, you read it right.

What Are the Benefits of Kids Games Online?

This may come as a surprise. Computer games have long been blamed for being a bad influence on kids, but recent studies find that they actually have a beneficial effect on those with dyslexia. In fact, it has been discovered that playing online kids’ games for a few hours daily could be more effective in treating dyslexia than months of conventional classroom teaching.

Dyslexic kids who played computer games for 12 hours saw a significant improvement in their reading speed and ability to concentrate. This is a significant finding because dyslexic kids read very slowly and constantly struggle with reading comprehension.

These results far exceed those achieved by dyslexic kids enrolled in highly grueling treatment programs. Kids are certainly going to love these findings!

Italian researchers say that action-based online games hold kids’ visual attention and enable them to extract more information from the environment. This allows kids to perform better on tests, probably because their minds are more focused after playing the game.

However, it is too soon to say whether online computer games are directly responsible for improving dyslexia in kids or how long the results might last. It is also unclear whether playing online games is a better treatment approach for dyslexia than conventional ones. In other words, playing online kids’ games without any kind of supervision or control is not advisable. Also, parents are cautioned against using online games as a DIY therapy for their child’s dyslexia, though it is perfectly alright to use it along with conventional therapies.

But if there ever was a therapy that dyslexic kids would definitely love, online kids’ games would be it!

Learning to Spell with Online English Games

The concept of spellings makes a grand entrance into the lives of kids as soon as they begin to read small words. Kids are initiated into the various rules of spellings once they are familiar with the alphabet and have upgraded themselves to recognize a string of letters as words. Most kids are seen struggling with spellings initially. Also, some kids take to the concept more easily than others. What aides their spelling skills? Do online English games help? As the study deepens, we find out that the process that was believed to help kids learn to spell better and quicker has undergone massive changes in the last two decades. The repetitive task of writing words over and over again neither interests kids nor does it help them memorize words and spellings. As far as learning how to spell is concerned, ‘rote’ has been sidelined.

English Games Familiarize Kids with Word Structure & Improve Spellings

The rote method of memorizing (which was the most favored method till recent times) has come under the scanner. Psychologists have found out that it is the child’s knowledge of spoken as well as written word structures that goes a long way in helping her learn to spell correctly. As kids have fun with words, they get familiar with their structures and ultimately, learn to spell well. This is where English games step in. These online kids’ games help make learning words a fun and interactive process for them. As kids immerse themselves in fun English games, words and structures get indelibly imprinted on their minds, thus helping them ace their spelling skills.

Online English Games Spoil You for Choice

The variety of English games and reading games available online is vast. Games that involve guessing mystery words with missing letters, filling in the blanks with correct letters to form words, unscrambling jumbled words, etc., are educational challenges that engage kids with word structures and help them with their spellings. As these online games allow kids to have fun, the lessons learned through them are better retained by kids.

So, if your kids are in grades kindergarten and above, get them introduced to the many fun English games available online. From alphabet soups and easy spelling puzzles for the lower grades to timed missing letter games and interactive, choice-based games for the higher grades, teachers and parents looking to help their kids become better spellers are spoilt for choice. Apart from helping kids with their spellings, these online English and reading games also help them with their vocabulary, grammar, reading as well as with their writing skills.

Rules of Spellings Made Easy with English Games for Kids

Younger kids like kindergarteners and first graders are often found spelling words according to how they sound to them. At this stage, kids try to match the sounds to the letter that are, to them, the representatives of those sounds. It is, thus, very important for kids of this age group to be introduced to interactive English games that help them understand the rules of spellings and how phonetic matching is not always applicable. Online English games can certainly make spelling champions out of your kids and thus, help them further their reading and writing skills. Make these games a part of the kids’ learning curriculum today!