Being able to contribute towards your children’s development is important and a healthy, happy child is all that you could ask for as a parent. However, providing them with ample opportunities to develop their child into the best version they can be, is crucial.
Not only is their development important to their happiness in life but it also contributes to whatever career path they wish to go down. Even those who come from less advantaged backgrounds can still excel in life, provided they’re given every opportunity possible.
The online gaming world has grown massively over the years, and the gaming industry in general is predicted to be worth $249.6 billion this year alone. When it comes to playing online games, many will think that it doesn’t offer much value beyond entertainment. However, there are plenty of benefits for playing online games for a child’s development.
With that being said, let’s look at how they can be beneficial for a child’s education and development in 2024.
The world of online gaming has changed significantly
It would be remiss not to mention how the online gaming world has changed significantly over the years. The internet has grown exponentially and the number of sites available to browse now is considerably more than when the internet was in its infancy.
For example, there are over one billion websites in existence now. Back when the internet was in its early days, there were just ten websites. This was in 1992, just a year after the internet was officially born.
7 benefits of playing online games for children’s education
In today’s online world, it’s important to be wary of the dangers online, especially as more people create digital profiles online. However, there are plenty of benefits to the internet, one being the opportunity to play games of all kinds. From card games to simulation games, the online gaming world is exciting.
With that being said, a lot of people of all ages, are enjoying gaming. For younger generations who only know life with technology, it’s important to strike the right balance. That way, your children can get a lot of out online gaming, rather than just entertainment.
It’s fantastic for enhancing memory
When playing some games, it’s important to be aware of what you might have done five minutes ago. For example, some games might have quests whereby you need to remember certain combinations or previous storylines to figure out the answers to the current quest you’re on.
All these memory-testing challenges are great for your little one’s brains, especially when it comes to their education within school. As they navigate the school years, they’ll be required to memorize a lot of information from many different subjects.
Therefore, an ability to successfully memorize lots of information at once is key. Online gaming can provide that and it’s something that you should surely encourage when it comes to your child picking out specific games
It is likely to improve their ability to concentrate
The ability to concentrate is an important one in their classroom but for also in all areas of their life. Whether they’re trying to concentrate on their homework to when they’re an adult, attempting to finish a project for an upcoming deadline.
A lot of humans nowadays struggle to concentrate because there are so many distractions, albeit a lot from technology itself. However, if you’re allowing your children to have a healthy amount of time with online gaming, it may be useful in improving their ability to concentrate.
Concentration is a great skill to have and the less they procrastinate, the more likely they are to find success in life. Certain games will require more concentration than others, so it’s good to look at the options yourself and perhaps suggest a few for them to play.
When they’re young and more impressionable, you might have more say over what they play but as they get older, independence will be fighting for their attention so it’s good to get your influences in early!
Useful for certain subjects at school
There are a number of games that would perhaps bolster your child’s knowledge in certain subjects. For example, the world of technology is forever growing and is unlikely to go away any time soon. With that in mind, there are games that can be applied to real-world digital problems.
Coding, for example, might be something that is found in certain games. Perhaps not literal coding but an eye for spotting detail or figuring out riddles, as well as repetitive actions can all be useful in the long term.
English is a subject that all students are likely to take when in an English-speaking country, so doing world puzzles might be a great option as a game to play online. There are plenty of crosswords, sudoku games, and more to practice their English. From learning the correct spellings of words to discovering words they’ve never heard of before.
Helps with multi-tasking
It’s an old-fashioned saying that women are best at multi-tasking, while men can only do things one at a time. However, it’s insulting to tar all men with the same brush when it comes to multi-tasking because there are plenty of men who can do it and plenty of women who cannot.
Multi-tasking is a skill that needs to be worked on and nurtured in order to find success with it. Being able to concentrate and split your focus across multiple tasks is important for some jobs and in general when it comes to your life.
Your child may go on to have a very busy household and with every household member, they have their own set routines, their own likes and dislikes. For example, juggling all of the extracurricular activities is a challenge in itself when it comes to managing it all as a parent.
In the workplace, they may have a responsibility to handle a variety of projects or clients all at one time. That talent for multi-tasking can come from online gaming in a sense. When they’re taking on quests that all happen around one another, it’s useful for them to figure out how to balance it all, while ticking them off the to-do list.
Ideal for creating friendships and confidence in social situations
Many of us will often slot ourselves into the label of being an introvert or an extrovert. Nowadays, you’ve got introverted extroverts and all types of people when it comes to confidence levels.
Confidence is something that some are often born with and have a natural talent for, while others need to work on their own self-confidence over time. With online games, your children can forge friendships and connections online with complete strangers.
Of course, it’s important to be wary of strangers online and to encourage your children to never meet these individuals unless you’re with them and it seems legit. Aside from that, playing games with others helps create a sense of competitiveness, working as a team – which is important for many jobs – and more!
They may have friends already who play online and so playing with them when they get in from school or on the weekends is a great way to help nurture those friendships they already have. How we meet people and the influence they have on our lives has changed considerably over the years.
It’s therefore important that you’re encouraging an enjoyment of the online world, which includes talking to others and interacting with online users. It’s part and parcel of how we communicate nowadays – whether you like it or not.
It can pique an interest in other histories and cultures
A big part of online gaming comes from the stories that it tells. Beyond those games that hold no narrative, certain games tell of history or of all cultures that your child might only be learning about through the game.
The internet offers us many benefits as a society but also as humans. We’ve learn a lot more about each other because of this shared knowledge base – the internet – that we all have access to.
Surprisingly it may help with exercise
While it might sound ridiculous, online gaming can be helpful when it comes to children getting the right amount of exercise. There are plenty of sports games that children can play and this might inspire them to take up the sport themselves in the real world. From FIFA for football to Basketball Stars for budding basketball players.
Online games will often prompt curiosity and that curiosity might come in the form of exercise, so encourage them to play sports games when online.
Useful for mental health
Finally and perhaps most importantly, it’s a good thing for their mental health. Being a child can be tough, which is why it’s good to have some outlets for them to enjoy life. Playing online games can be useful for a child’s development, especially when it comes to their mental wellbeing.
If your child doesn’t currently play online games, now might be the right time to take full advantage of it.