Computer games are not suitable for children! Or does it?

Children and computer games – parents are less concerned than the discussion about Minecraft, the Sims or FIFA. Béa Beste considers fears and prohibitions that are too great to be useless. It reveals how you can squeeze something of educational value out of every computer game.

Just try it yourself and pick up the controller | © Africa Studio \ Fotolia.com

08/17/2015, column "The parent whisperer" by Béa Beste

Are you one of the parents who Computer games tend to be dumbing down assess, and who are annoyed by their children’s ball and addiction?

Or just belong to the parents who do the whole thing how to handle candy – according to the motto: "Not quite healthy, but let’s not make it more attractive by forbidding it"?

Whichever faction you belong to, believe me, in your child’s life there will be computer games sooner or later. They don’t go away anymore. And no matter what your point of view is, there is a trick, how to deal with it good and valuable shoot can provide – for your child:

Children and computer games? Talk about it – with your child!

Show interest on the computer game. Ask questions. Let us explain, describe and show you something. Are you a gory beginner? Don’t worry. you Child does not expect shop talk, and above all, it doesn’t expect bias. You don’t even have to pretend that you find it all sooo exciting if it isn’t.

Just try, not pejorative rather to demonstrate healthy curiosity by asking how it works, how to win or lose, or what is really exciting about it.

Reflecting and verbalizing is good for your child

The reason is simple. Every kind of game is actually a learning process: The player has to find his way in a mostly complex new environment, discover new communication and action mechanisms and develop his own strategies. No game, not even a computer game, is all about "Shoot and blink-blink".

As soon as you ask questions, get your child to do it, to reflect the whole thing and to put it in your own words. And that, dear parents, is one pedagogically valuable process!

It’s that simple. And if the questions don’t seem so simple to you, I whisper to you now questions that you can ask when it comes to children and computer games:

Have a good conversation about computer games – your child might ask:

What do you like best about the game?
What do you have to be able to do to be successful??
When do you win?
When do you lose?
If you play the computer game alone or with several children?
Do you admire someone who can do that better than you?
Who of your friends likes that too??
What are you proud of in this computer game?
What else would you like to be able to or learn?
There are secret tricks?
Where do you get information if you don’t know what to do next??
Do you know who the game makers are? They are cool socks?

Give it a try – you will be amazed, how much strategic thinking and clever such a small person can give, especially when it comes to computer games, because that’s what many children are very interested in.

Your Béa

Note from the scoyo editorial team: If you talk to your child about how long they can play on the computer, use our parent-child contract. It is aimed at smartphones, but you can easily customize it. It definitely works!

Co-parent whisperer Christian Füller by the way, sees it very differently from Béa Beste. Read here what he thinks about children and computer games and how parents should deal with them: Beat the boys in FiFa?

About our parent whisper Béa Beste

Béa Beste, education entrepreneur

© Béa Beste In the future dialogue of the Chancellor, education entrepreneur Béa Beste advocated as an expert in the field "How do we want to learn?" For a learning culture of developing potential and more cheerfulness in education. Béa founded the bilingual Phorms schools in 2006, and a few years later the monthly Tollabox with materials and craft ideas for families with children from three years of age. The mother of an adult daughter runs the Tollabox creative blog as "Tollabea" further.

column "The parent whisperer"

Alternately, journalist Christian Füller and educational entrepreneur Béa Beste whisper stories and examples from the wonderfully chaotic world of learning and life into parents’ ears.

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