Video games teach kids valuable skills: study
Posted June 13, 2013 9:26 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Lighten up if you’re always trying to get your children away from their video games.
We’re hearing some surprising results from a study out of the University of Victoria, suggesting video game-playing is good for your kids.
Dr. Kathy Sanford with UVic’s Education Department says her study looked at how game-playing helped a number of kids develop certain life skills. “Some of the typical ones, like problem-solving and strategizing are clearly evident.”
But Sanford says it goes beyond that to leadership, negotiation, and skills assessment.
“Working in teams, both with people that they know and people that they may not know… Having to figure out the skills of each of the players, how they work together, how they work in order to achieve their goals,” she lists as examples of other skills kids learn.
“The most surprising thing of all was their discussion… of the ethical and moral decision-making that they were doing in their game, which I think is really important as they move into adulthood.”
Sanford says the teens they studied are now giving talks aimed at parents who want to know more about the value of gaming.
