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Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

nida.nih.gov

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Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#111

Post by jacooper »

hot_gril wrote: post #63

I played a lot of video games as a kid because that's what other kids did. Probably taught me some logic skills, but I would've traded it for a real childhood and social skills. Self-exploring coding was far more educational anyway. Card/board games are a good in-between with a social component and without the mindless or consumerist aspect of some video games. My wife and I decided our kids won't have video games at…

> my wife and I decided our kids won't have video games. We'll see how it goes.

I think you kid would feel excluded in school, when everyone is playing together online and talking about the latest games.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#112

Post by notch656a »

hot_gril wrote: post #61
imran-iq wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Video games are like the cheapest way to keep a kid busy for low income working parents Source on that? Video games (console or pc) is very expensive and not something low income folks can generally afford for their kids.

Not if they're old/used. Even new games are cheaper than sports lessons, music lessons, or living in a nice area for other activities. Of course, without video games either, kids will find a way to have fun regardless. My grim apartment complex still had kids kicking around a soccer ball or riding bikes in the parking lot.

And it wouldn't surprise me if after adjusting for soccer and bike related medical costs, video games still beat those out in cost per unit time.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#113

Post by throwaway09223 »

ericmcer wrote: post #88
drooby wrote: post #49

I credit RuneScape with teaching me the value of delayed gratification and basic economics. I credit competitive Halo 3 with teaching me team building and strategy skills. I credit StarCraft with training my mind to travel at warp speed. Honestly. My video game experience was instrumental to my success so far in life. This is not surprising to me.

In the same boat and it is great until I run into a more complex multi-faceted problem, pick a solution and end up 30 miles down the road before I realize I need to backtrack and try a different one. If my childhood had more books and boredom I might have the patience to spend longer in the planning stage and less enthusiasm for the drinking coffee and pounding out a solution stage.

Mine had a lot of books and boredom.

I rarely regret just getting things done. Excessive planning is a much larger issue. I find it's usually better to just do something twice rather than spend too much time thinking about it.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#115

Post by texaslonghorn5 »

dubeye wrote: post #60

My kid is 3.5. Would love to game with him but had assumed it was years off.... Any tips on games or consoles? I think I have an ancient ps4 in the attic somewhere but very open to buying new kit

Teach him arithmetic or how to read first. Or chess!

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#116

Post by kspacewalk2 »

mod wrote: post #83
andrewmutz wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What games do you recommend for kids of that age?

At young ages, I say give them an old-school Nintendo, or N64 etc. Little/no advertising, monetization of your kid's attention, whatever. If they're not on the web or at school yet, they won't even know they're missing out on more modern systems. Or some similar setup where there's no online, no monthly charge, no pay-to-win, and instead the child gets to play a carefully crafted game, hopefully an awesome one. I als…

Agree completely! My 6 year old thought the original Wii is the pinnacle of gaming, even told me to treat the controllers gently since he's gonna pass it on to his kids, and they will pass it to theirs - that seemed so obvious to him.

Of course, a few months ago his "girlfriend" down the street got a Switch...

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#117

Post by drdrey »

darkteflon wrote: post #51
andrewmutz wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What games do you recommend for kids of that age?

Fun question! I would suggest the following (in no particular order), subject to the proviso that you do need to be sat next to them to help manage frustration, especially in the beginning (although my personal take is that they shouldn’t be left to play by themselves at all at that age) - particularly as they learn the controller, general video game conventions, and the specifics of each game: - Breath of the Wild -…

My kid loves Unraveled on the switch, he asks for it all the time. It’s a cute co-op puzzle platformer.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#118

Post by b33j0r »

I’d be a very different person without games when I was young. Got me into programming, thinking beyond my immediate reality… etc. More stimulation is probably good for development, that’s how pathways form, I have been told.

Call me armchair “points out the obvious parts then gets pessimistic guy,” but we’ll likely never actually know if it’s a correlation in the time period that’s more consistent with like… the nutritional availability and parenting habits. Or for that matter The Osbornes going off the air?

I suspect that a lot of our policy actions must be suspiciously based on suspicions until we make a major breakthrough in neurology or statistical analysis. Do what works for now.

Seems like brains that are engaged have better outcomes than passive ones, let’s do that for now!

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#119

Post by hot_gril »

jacooper wrote: post #111
hot_gril wrote: post #63

I played a lot of video games as a kid because that's what other kids did. Probably taught me some logic skills, but I would've traded it for a real childhood and social skills. Self-exploring coding was far more educational anyway. Card/board games are a good in-between with a social component and without the mindless or consumerist aspect of some video games. My wife and I decided our kids won't have video games at…

> my wife and I decided our kids won't have video games. We'll see how it goes. I think you kid would feel excluded in school, when everyone is playing together online and talking about the latest games.

It can feel that way sometimes when something is popular, but it's never really everyone, usually not even the majority.

Re: Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

#120

Post by hot_gril »

notch656a wrote: post #112
hot_gril wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if they're old/used. Even new games are cheaper than sports lessons, music lessons, or living in a nice area for other activities. Of course, without video games either, kids will find a way to have fun regardless. My grim apartment complex still had kids kicking around a soccer ball or riding bikes in the parking lot.

And it wouldn't surprise me if after adjusting for soccer and bike related medical costs, video games still beat those out in cost per unit time.

I don't know. As a kid, I very rarely heard of other kids being injured from soccer or biking in a way that requires a doctor's visit. People broke limbs skiing or something. The kids playing in the parking lot could've had govt-supplied health coverage anyway; they lived in 2br apartments shared by two families.
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