Quite a number of parents automatically think that online games do more harm than good to their children, however playing games online can provide some benefits to your children’s skills development.

If parents create reasonable guidelines with their children and create positive agreements around playing online games then struggles like kids staying up late playing on their computers; disinterest in school activities or work and problems with children isolating themselves do not need to become an issue.

There are a multitude of fun and age appropriate games online that can provide opportunities for children to exercise their creativity, set goals, practice persistence, develop responsibility, and even learn new information. Games like taking care of a virtual pet like horse games or building cities, puzzles and more can be quite fun.

A good idea before introducing online games to your child is to take a moment to review and select a game that you are comfortable with. For example, if your child likes animals, the horse games on virtualhorsegames.net have many reviews and explanations of how the online horse games work and what age they are appropriate for. Understanding how these games actually work and some of the benefits of playing games online can help you make a decision on whether or not your child should play games online.

Certainly one on one play time with a parent, playing with friends and independent play are tremendously important, however, if you have considered introducing online games to your child but are not sure if you really should here are some skills they may practice with computer games:

Children can exercise some creativity

By playing games that allow children to choose and customize animals, like an online horse game, your children’s creativity is sparked. For many games, choosing colors, accessories and features are one of the main goals of the game.

Children learn a bit about setting and achieving goals

Many games are goal-oriented as evidenced by the concrete objectives players at each level must meet. This characteristic teaches kids how to set their goals and motivate them to achieve them through mastering the needed skills and by being more strategic.

Children may work on online social skills

Depending on your child’s age and what you decide is appropriate, there are games online that provide a chance for children to interact with other players. This can be an opportunity to talk about how to conduct one-self online and also opens an important door to discuss how much private information is ok to share online and when to ask mom or dad for help.

Children can practice some responsibility

Giving children a chance to play some online games, like the horse games or other social games can be an opportunity to teach your kids how to be responsible especially when it comes to time management. Together with your child you can come up with an agreement that works for both of you and still gives your child plenty of time to work on school work, have time to play, meet with friends and so on…

Children absorb information in a fun way

Classroom educators continuously develop new techniques to teach “boring” concepts to kids. Many believe that by changing the traditional modes of teaching into more innovative and creative strategies, kids learn more and develop the capacity to understand and absorb more complex ideas. Online games are often full of fun facts that children really just learn because they are having so much fun.

Computer and other online games like the virtual horse games mentioned can be fun and safe if parents make a point to be involved. If you guide your child in the process of choosing an age appropriate game, read reviews and talk with other parents and your child to decide how much and when online games will be played. Introducing online games with moderation and limits can be a fun way to pass a bit of time and learn new things.

 

Written by Andres Ong