For years, video games got a bad rap from parents, community leaders and others who thought that they were bad for kids. However, the truth is that children can derive a variety of benefits from playing games on a tablet, phone or console. It’s worth noting that even games that contain moderate levels of violence can be helpful for children as long as it is put into context. For instance, playing a game that recreates a Civil War battle can help kids learn more about the history of the United States.

Modern Video Games Help Kids Form Connections With Their Peers

These days, most games are played on servers that host thousands of players at the same time. This means that your kids can collaborate with their classmates to build virtual structures in games such as Minecraft or join forces with their peers to play Madden NFL 22 against other teams from around the world.

It may also be possible for those who like games such as Monopoly, checkers or UNO to find competitors online. In fact, the internet can be an ideal place to find opponents who are willing to play by your modified UNO rules or who are willing to play variations of other games that you enjoy.

For those who have social anxiety, autism or other developmental issues, it may be easier to spend time with others in a virtual world as opposed to the physical world. If you are a parent of a child who may struggle to make friends at school, it may be worthwhile to look into various online forums that may better cater to their social needs.

Video Games Help Kids Process Their Emotions

It’s long been said by some that kids tend to emulate whatever they experience during a video game. For instance, if they are allowed to shoot, maim or kill people while driving down the streets of Los Angeles, conventional wisdom says that they will think that these types of actions are acceptable.

However, research has suggested that video games actually provide a safe outlet for kids to process their emotions and otherwise interact with the world around them. Ultimately, allowing a child to act in a vengeful manner in a digital world may prevent them from doing so in the real world.

It can also be argued that kids can learn more about the potential consequences of their actions without actually ruining their futures. For example, if you steal a car in a video game, the police will come after you. If you hit someone in a video game, that victim may come after you for revenge. This can help to teach kids that violence is not the answer to any problems that they have at school, at home or anywhere else.

Video Games Help Kids Be Creative

Games made in the past few years tend to feature landscapes that can be altered to a significant degree. In some cases, the gamers themselves are required to create the world that they inhabit. This makes it possible for kids to express themselves in an open and safe manner.

Games Can Teach Kids How to Manage Money

Over the past decade, video game companies have largely adopted a freemium content model. This means that a game can be downloaded to a phone, tablet or console for free. However, a player must spend real money to access character models, uniforms or premium playable maps. For the most part, these purchases do little to improve the quality of the product or the enjoyment a player gets from them.

Of course, this probably won’t stop your son or daughter from begging you to pay for these extras. What it will do is provide you an opportunity to help your child learn more about the differences between needs and wants. It can also help you teach them about effective money management and the importance of buying things that have real value.

It’s worth noting that numerous studies have found that video game companies willfully create games in a manner that gets kids addicted to them. Therefore, as a parent, it’s important to keep an eye on your child’s playing habits. It’s also important to never give them access to your credit card or other payment tools. Otherwise, your children could spend thousands of dollars on mostly useless junk that might only be good for a limited time.

If you were born at any time after 1980, there is a good chance that you grew up playing games on a computer or traditional gaming console. Therefore, you can likely understand why your kids like to play them so much, and you also probably understand the potential pitfalls of doing so. However, as long as you keep an eye on what your kids are playing, it is generally in their best interest to use their phones, consoles or tablets on a regular basis.