{"id":46365,"date":"2018-12-19T11:42:37","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T19:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=46365"},"modified":"2018-12-19T11:42:37","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T19:42:37","slug":"twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nIn the build up to Christmas, I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be many parents who have guiltily allowed their children extra screen time so cards get written and presents wrapped.<\/p>\n

But the good news is that video games can be a vibrant and rich source of learning. So with this in mind, here\u2019s my twelve reasons why you should let your children play video games this Christmas \u2013 and not feel too guilty.<\/p>\n

1. Learning rules<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Video games often have complex rules to be learnt and this is a process that\u00a0researchers<\/a>have likened to developing an understanding of the grammar of language. So when the kids want to play\u00a0Fortnite<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Pok\u00e9mon Go<\/a>\u00a0let them, but also talk to them about what the rules of the game are.<\/p>\n

2. Problem solving<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Games are often assumed to be isolating, but with the latest connective technologies children can play at the same time with their friends and plan strategy with them too \u2013 which is believed to\u00a0help children learn new approaches<\/a>\u00a0to problem solving.<\/p>\n

3. Learning to share<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Apart from the obvious need to take turns, children enjoy how sociable video games can be. At Walkley primary school, one of the research schools for the\u00a0MakeEY<\/a>\u00a0project in Sheffield, a current shared favourite of the youngest children fromis the\u00a0Hey Duggee Tinsel Badge <\/a>. The children love taking screen shots of the Christmas tree they have decorated to print and show to parents.<\/p>\n

4. Reading stories<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Something that is often overlooked in games is the way they tell stories. Of course, in many very action-orientated games you could be forgiven for missing this, so if you\u2019re looking for examples with less conflict try the beautifully drawn\u00a0Journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. Telling stories<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In a recent project in libraries \u2013\u00a0Storysmash<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 children used free software called\u00a0Twine<\/a>\u00a0to create their own computer game. It was fascinating to see how much they had absorbed from games they loved in terms of the characters, plots, settings and style.
\n

\"\"

Fun for all the family. Shutterstock<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

6. Female role models<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Research shows<\/a>\u00a0that early encouragement to engage with science and technology can help girls see themselves studying and working in science, technology, maths (STEM) and engineering subjects. There are some great games that offer strong female role models such as\u00a0Bitz n Bob<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Detective Dot<\/a>\u00a0who solves mysteries using\u00a0STEM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. Engineering: building blocks<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Many popular games such as Minecraft involve building and making. For very young children\u00a0Duplo Town<\/a>\u00a0is a good induction into the creative world of Lego. There are increasingly useful apps for children to create 3D designs such as\u00a0Tinker Cad<\/a>\u00a0too.<\/p>\n

8. Science and sustainability<\/strong><\/h4>\n

For older children\u00a0Snake Pass<\/a>\u00a0is a physics-based puzzle game where you have to think from the point of view of Noodle the Snake. Aardman\u2019s\u00a0Sustainable Shaun<\/a>\u00a0is an ecosytem style game where players have to create a healthy environment for some favourite characters.<\/p>\n

9. Creativity<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Once upon a time arts and sciences were not separated at the school gate.\u00a0Ada Lovelace\u2019s<\/a>musical knowledge helped her to see the algorithmic potential of Charles Babbage\u2019s\u00a0Analytical Engine<\/a>\u00a0. In the same way, there are many video games that encourage creativity and an interest in arts. At a recent visit to Sheffield\u2019s newly opened\u00a0National Videogame Museum<\/a>\u00a0I encountered an old favourite,\u00a0Vib Ribbon<\/a>\u00a0which is a satisfyingly tricky music and rhythm game.<\/p>\n

10. Make believe play<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Make believe play is key to children\u2019s learning and development and games such as\u00a0Toca Boca<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 based on fictional worlds \u2013 enable children to make believe play with everything from pets and cooking to hospitals and cinemas. For adults this sort of play is often a more distant memory so if you want to remind yourself try\u00a080 Days<\/a>, which combines role play with problem solving and quaint characterisation.<\/p>\n

11. Playground Games<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Research from the Playtime project<\/a>\u00a0found many similarities between children\u2019s play in the 1950s and their play today. Many children play \u201ctig\u201d mixed with war games in the playground,\u00a0just as they did back then<\/a>. Many video games also have similarities to the ones children play together.\u00a0Hidden Folks<\/a>, for example, is a quirky alternative to hide and seek when the weather is bad.<\/p>\n

12. Online vs offline<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Video game play and active play don\u2019t have to be two separate things.\u00a0Research highlights<\/a>the way children adopt ideas from games in their physical play in the garden, on their bikes and even on the trampoline. This might come in useful when you think it\u2019s time for a break. You could suggest a related offline activity \u2013 such as creating a Fortnite diary or inventing a new Pok\u00e9mon.<\/p>\n

So this Christmas, ditch the guilt and instead focus on taking an interest and encouraging them to play games that will stretch their imaginations and learn new skills.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Becky Parry is a Lecturer in Digital Literacies at the University of Sheffield<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the build up to Christmas, I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be many parents who have guiltily allowed their children extra screen time so cards get written and presents wrapped. But the good news is that video games can be a vibrant and rich source of learning. So with this in mind, here\u2019s my twelve reasons why […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":46366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[12846],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-46365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-games"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTwelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the build up to Christmas, I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be many parents who have guiltily allowed their children extra screen time so cards get written and presents wrapped. But the good news is that video games can be a vibrant and rich source of learning. So with this in mind, here\u2019s my twelve reasons why […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-19T19:42:37+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"680\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"452\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-19T19:42:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":828,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Games\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/\",\"name\":\"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-19T19:42:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":452},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"In the build up to Christmas, I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be many parents who have guiltily allowed their children extra screen time so cards get written and presents wrapped. But the good news is that video games can be a vibrant and rich source of learning. So with this in mind, here\u2019s my twelve reasons why […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2018-12-19T19:42:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":680,"height":452,"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas","datePublished":"2018-12-19T19:42:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/"},"wordCount":828,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg","keywords":["Games"],"articleSection":["Lifestyle"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/","name":"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-19T19:42:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Kids-playing-a-video-game.jpg","width":680,"height":452},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/twelve-reasons-to-let-your-children-play-video-games-this-christmas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Twelve reasons to let your children play video games this Christmas"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46365"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=46365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}