Image by Monika Baechler from Pixabay

My husband and I allow our kids an hour of screen time a day, which they covet like it’s a precious jewel.

Thus, it’s very surprising to me that on the weekends, nine times out of ten, they happily give this time over to playing video games with my husband.

I don’t generally participate – the chance for a short span of uninterrupted time is too enticing – but judging from the laughs and cheers I hear bursting from the family room, it seems like I might be missing out on something.

Curious, I decided to scour the web to learn if there really are benefits to intergenerational video game playing.

Bonding

Image by Omar Medina Films from Pixabay

Sometimes the best moments of parenthood come when you share the joys of your childhood with your own children.

Many members of the current generation of parents grew up loving video games, and therefore have an extreme fondness (occasionally bordering on obsession) for gaming.

So it makes sense that playing video games with kids gives a unique opportunity for bonding because it offers an element of teaching the next generation about the things you loved, and why you loved them.

Plus, games are just fun, sometimes much more so than a traditional board or outdoor game.

As this article from howstuffworks.com points out,

“Video games are generally more interactive than board games and will undoubtedly hold your attention longer, especially if your kids are small (trust us, a game of Chutes and Ladders doesn’t take nearly as long as you remember).”

Any activity that promotes fun and laughter strengthens family ties, thus boosting kids’ (and parents) overall health and morale.

Of course, one caveat that this article from Consumer Reports makes is that the fun should be mutual to reap all the benefits of playing together. That generally means that adults should choose the video games (at least early on).

Consumer Reports talked to Sinem Siyahhan, an assistant professor at California State University at San Marcos, and reported on what she said:

“Siyahham offers this surprising tip: Let the adult pick the game. She says that kids tend to be much more flexible than adults in this regard. So choose a game that’s not only age-appropriate but also something you want to play.”

Letting parents pick the game enhances the overall experience because it ensures that everyone is having fun, which is what makes the activity quality “play” in the first place.

Life Lessons

Image by Sergey Nemo from Pixabay

Aside from just being fun, playing video games together is a shared experience that opens up lines of communication between parents and children.

This NBC News story interviewed a dad named John Idler about the benefits of gaming with his kids. As Idler says,

‘“How many parents complain they don’t have anything to talk about with their kids? It may be geek talk, but we’re still communicating…How many parents sit down and do things on a consistent basis with their kids? I think it’s a great way to share some time.”’

Once kids and parents are talking, it offers ample opportunities to teach life lessons, especially since, as Sinem Siyahhan says in the Consumer Reports article, “Video games are a rich medium, compared to television. Or even books.”

That’s because many video games offer well-developed storylines that touch on real-life themes.

In this article for Forbes, author Jordan Shapiro (who writes about global education, game-based learning, kids, & culture), points out that when he began playing video games with his kids, he discovered a fertile new source of parental teaching materials.

He writes,

“I unpacked the positive lessons in Frogger, Space Invaders, Super Mario Brothers, and more. I considered the moral lessons hiding right beneath the surface of this relatively new canon of interactive mythology and fairy tales…I discovered a world of interactive learning, systems thinking, adaptive feedback, and the possibility that game-based learning might alter the way we think about what it means to learn. ”

Beyond “moral lessons,” that emerge from video game themes, parents can also nurture more concrete skills when playing games with kids.

For instance, video games give kids a taste of valuable life lessons like “you don’t always win,” and “success takes practice.”

Plus, they offer the chance to help kids practice cheering and supporting other people.

Shapiro gives an example of when this happened to him and his son,

“Sometimes my 6-year-old and I take turns playing various casual games like Subway Surfers or Angry Birds on the iPad. We cheer each other on. We compare high scores.”

Giving kids the chance to be “teammates” with their parents in this way – cheering them on and having fun as friends – also demonstrates another benefit of playing video games as a family: role reversal.

Empowering Role Reversal

Image by rodrigomullercwb from Pixabay

Unlike outdoor sports where skill depends a lot on physical ability, video games often “level the playing field” of expertise, often resulting in the kids having greater success than the parents.

As the NBC News article explains,

“One expert said video games equalize the physical size differences between fathers and their kids. That means children often have the edge in a video game, and they may feel more willing to communicate.”

It’s not only that video games make kids feel bigger “physically.” Video games can also give kids the unique experience of being the “expert” in knowledge as well.

According to the Consumer Reports article,

“As they get older, most kids will develop mastery of games that their parents can’t even approach. And that’s good, Siyahhan explains because video games offer a rare opportunity for parents and children to reverse roles in a truly organic fashion. “The fact that parents know less about the ins and outs of games is an asset,” she explains. “The parents are then in the position of being a learner.”’

When kids can feel empowered in this way, it helps them become more confident in their abilities to navigate the outside world.

It seems that there are indeed many pros to gaming with our kids – for limited time periods of course – not the least of which comes as a pearl of wisdom from one of the dads interviewed in the NBC article.

The article quotes Andrew Bub, creator of the website Gamerdad.com who says,

“Taking an interest in what your kids do will always make you a better parent. And, you’ll have a better idea about what to buy them for Christmas.”

So the next time I hear the cheers (and occasional good-natured jeers) from the family room when my kids are playing video games with my husband, I’ll try to resist the urge to pop in my headphones and ignore it.

Maybe if I find the right game, that will help entice me to play.

If only someone would design a napping game…