{"id":6697,"date":"2012-04-18T01:04:54","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T18:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=6697"},"modified":"2012-04-18T01:15:31","modified_gmt":"2012-04-17T18:15:31","slug":"stop-worrying-about-video-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/stop-worrying-about-video-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop Worrying about Video Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

By Jennifer Comet Wagner<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: \u00a0<\/strong>Jennifer Comet Wagner is a fellow mom techie and good friend of mine. \u00a0She blogs about connecting <\/span><\/address>\n
with your teens through pop culture and technology\u00a0<\/span>at <\/span>ConnectwithYourTeens.net<\/span><\/a>. \u00a0She recently\u00a0authored the ebook,<\/span><\/address>\n
The Gamer Generation: Reaping the Benefits of Video\u00a0Games<\/a>. \u00a0<\/span>She can also be found on <\/span><\/address>\n
her website <\/span>http:\/\/www.jennifercometwagner.com<\/span>.<\/span><\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Parents have many things to worry about. It comes with the job. However, one of the things that many<\/p>\n

parents worry about needlessly is playing video games. As you will see, gaming conveys many benefits<\/p>\n

to the player, with very little downside.<\/div>\n

Why don\u2019t you know about these benefits? The newspapers love to write stories about violence in video
\ngames because it sells. However there have been hundreds of studies during the last decade on video
\ngames benefits and some that also show that violent video games do not create violent kids. The fact
\nthat parents were only hearing one side of the story was the reason that I decided to write The Gamer
\nGeneration: Reaping The Benefits of Video Games.<\/p>\n

Here is a list of the various benefits discussed the in the ebook:
\nIn my book, The Gamer Generation, I share many resources \u2013 articles, books, websites, videos, etc.<\/p>\n

1. Socialization<\/strong> \u2013 For most teens, gaming is a social activity and a major component of their overall
\nsocial experience.
\n2. Physical and Health Benefits<\/strong> \u2013 With all the new motion controllers, kids don\u2019t sit still while
\nplaying anymore. Video games are being created to help with a number of medical conditions.
\n3. Violence in Video Games: The Studies You Don\u2019t See<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cVideo games are bad for you? That’s
\nwhat they said about Rock ‘n Roll.\u201d There are a number of studies that disprove the theory that
\nviolent video games make gamers violent.
\n4. Cognitive and Creative Benefits<\/strong> \u2013 Today\u2019s video games are so complex that gamers become
\nexperts at multitasking with improved cognitive processing.
\n5. Video Games in Education<\/strong> \u2013 Kids enjoy learning when they are having fun. And games are
\nperfect for education with the game design of clear goals, leveling up, ability to risk take and
\nrewards.
\n6. Educational Value of Video Game Creation<\/strong> – \u201cIt is paradoxical that many educators and parents
\nstill differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital
\nconnection between them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Author Jennifer Comet Wagner with a character from Pop Cap's Plants Vs. Zombies.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

7. Business and Careers<\/strong> \u2013 In Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, players develop the
\nability to multitask, think creatively, work in teams, and become leaders.
\n8. Serious Games<\/strong> – “Serious games are games with purpose beyond just providing entertainment.”
\nSerious games are being created in many areas that are impacting the world with charitable and
\nother endeavors.
\n9. Family Connections<\/strong> \u2013 Video games can bring families together. There are so many family
\nfriendly games that families can spend hours having fun together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A recent article that I\u2019d like to recommend is Are Video Games Good for Girls?<\/a>\u00a0 This is another excellent
\narticle that brings out many of the benefits of video games.<\/p>\n

As long as your kids play age-appropriate games, and don\u2019t play every waking moment, gaming is not<\/p>\n

something to worry about at all. It can actually be a very good thing. Give it a try so that you too might
\nreap the benefits of video games.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To find out more, you can find Jennifer Comet Wagner’s ebook, \u00a0The Gamer Generation: Reaping the Benefits of Video Games\u00a0at Amazon.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jennifer Comet Wagner, a parent of boys, tackles the multitudes of research on video games and their effects on kids. Thorough and compelling, Wagner discusses the research that points to the benefits video games provide our children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,8,698,13,14],"tags":[86,949,1117,334],"class_list":["post-6697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-dads","category-gadgets","category-games-2","category-kids","category-moms","tag-ebook","tag-gaming","tag-reaping-the-benefits-of-video-games","tag-video-games","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/p-content\/themes\/atahualpa342\/images\/articles\/2012\/04\/The-Gamer-Generation-ebookcover-red5-290.jpg?fit=290%2C376&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}