The knock on video games is often the fact that they are eating up time that children could otherwise use for more “beneficial” activities. This is something that has been hypothesized since the first video games were ever released, and continues to be argued by non-gamers everywhere.

The question is: are games REALLY that bad for your kids? Are they really the giant waste of time that many parents often allege them to be? Do they really have no educational value whatsoever?

Simply put, the answer is no. In fact, when video games are used properly, and are played with parents having a hand in what games are bought, video games can be an excellent tool. They can aid in a child’s development, and enhance many aspects of their life.

In fact, playing video games can:

  1. Advance a child’s vocabulary

    Games like Bookworm Adventures make learning vocabulary far more fun than an English class. Roleplaying games tend to support this as well, because grand adventures tend to also come with heavy language, which helps propel a child’s knowledge.

    Bookworm Adventures

  2. Enhance a child’s problem solving skills

    Sudoku Adventures is a game that turns one of the world’s favorite pastimes into a video game, putting it into a fun format. Video game versions of other brain games like chess are also available, and all of these help improve problem solving and logical skills.

    Sudoku Adventures

  3. Give parents and children a hobby to share together

    Most importantly, video games can make a big impact a child’s development if his or her parents guide them through the experience. This also creates a shared hobby in which parent and child can grow together, and helps them maintain a closer bond.

As one can see, there are a myriad of different benefits involved with playing video games. As long as they are used in a responsible and supervised manner, video games have many positive uses!

Carlo R. Coloma

Carlo is the Community Manager at [MatchMove Games](http://www.MatchMove Gamesgames.com)