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For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

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For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Parenting

Are Computer Games necessary for boys? Discuss

37 replies

SingleMama · 22/04/2013 14:31

Some people say that the above is true. Would like to hear your experiences on computer games/ video games for boys over 6 and whether they can enhance or only hinder a boy's development...

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LtGreggs · 22/04/2013 22:37

On the guns thing, my Mum's advice was that gun games are better than sword games, because swords involve actually hitting each other whereas guns are at least remote

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SingleMama · 22/04/2013 22:38

Thanks Knit minion!

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SingleMama · 22/04/2013 22:39

LtGreggs- that's funny! :-D

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SingleMama · 22/04/2013 22:42

And thanks LtGreggs for those recommendations too.

All suggestions, opinions on these issues very welcome :-D

What about Wii?

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piprabbit · 22/04/2013 22:49

Have a look at the Show Me website, free games from UK (and overseas) museums.
DD especially loves Thingdom (genetics and evolution) and Make-a-Flake.

I'm slightly confused by your comment that you weren't impressed with the CBeebies game. Which one? There are in the region of 300 games on the CBeebies website.

However, if you are looking for 'educational' you could try BBC Bitesize KS1 resources.

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KnitMinion · 22/04/2013 22:50

We had a Wii, along with every other damn console known to man. It got sold to buy a Kinect when they came out.

While we did get a lot of use out of the Wii, we get more out of the Kinect. My DD, who is 17months, can even join in with some of the party games DS plays. Just daft stuff like the screen fills with balloons and as you run about the balloons pop, nothing fancy, but the kids seem to enjoy it - as do our friends when we have a party .

I suppose getting a Kinect means getting an x-box too, and that could lead to nagging about more inappropriate games in a few years. I have DS fairly well trained and he knows he isn't allowed to play any, as he calls them "killy" games at all. And that mum is final say on the matter because dad is more lax than me, so we (as in DH and I) decided that if we doesn't both agree it's ok, then it doesn't get played.

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DontSHOUTTTTTT · 22/04/2013 22:50

We play, as a family..

Tetris on N64 (very very retro!) Bomberman, Marioparty (all 9 of them ) ribbitking, mariocart, pokemon snap ( yes really ) etc etc.

The original mario games were truly epic as were the Banjo Kazooie games.

. My DH plays Fifa games with them.

My kids play COD, etc on their own or with friends.

I think it is nice that my 20, 19 and 16 year old kids want to play with me. We really enjoy it.

I have never let my kids mindlessly play on the computer. That would be lazy parenting. I never let them have any first person shooters until 16'ish and even now I won't let certain games, such as Grand Theft Auto, in the house.

Computer games are not the problem lazy parents are.

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piprabbit · 22/04/2013 22:52

Oh, and my DD (9yo) and DS (4yo) have enjoyed playing the same games at similar ages over the years, no noticeable gender difference - now we are getting to the stage when they can finally play games together and they plan their strategies together.

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JCDenton · 24/04/2013 14:20

Necessary? No.

Most kids find them fun and my peer group mostly talked about games, it was our number one shared interest. Plenty of others had zero interest. We all turned out fine, games or not.

If your DS hasn't mentioned them there's no real reason to push them toward it, though I suspect they will be interested one day.

Games can be of benefit in terms on planning, problem solving, being creative, hand-eye coordination. Quite a few games have accurate historical content, though quite a few are very Hollywood with it. Surgeons who play video games make significantly fewer mistakes than those who don't, for example. The US Department of Defence claim that people who play games score over 10% higher, on average, on cognitive and perceptual tests.

This is all purely incidental to the fact that they're pretty much purely recreational though. Nobody needs them and as much as I love them, there's nothing you can't pick up from elsewhere.

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rrreow · 24/04/2013 17:56

I'm a gamer (both board & video games) so will never be against my kids playing video games in moderation if it's something they enjoy, but necessary?? And why would it be necessary for boys but not girls?

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Smolbeanlizzie · 10/05/2020 00:42

They survived, video games teach morales, hand eye coordination, values, what to do / not to do, respect, they can make friendships even relationships, they can help people cope with life, as did I.

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maxinesmith · 12/05/2020 05:20

At risk of sounding like an "artsy Fartsy" parent (fave British expression btw) I think video games have had an enormous benefit on my 15 yr old son. When he was getting into them we had a conversation about how video games are just creative expressions and through that he has learned to look at them critically and not take them at face value. When playing fort nite he was able to tell us all about the artistic style and we had a conversation about what he liked/ didn't like.

I think if you have open dialogues with your kids about the video games they are playing. It can help them really learn about themselves.