Video games and child development
Video games now feature ways to get youngsters moving and learning. But parents need to strike a balance with real play
Gaming is often considered the realm of teenage boys and couch potatoes. But as technology has evolved, consoles have become equipped with features that can appeal to the whole family and get players off their backsides.
Sony's PlayStation, Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox all now have games that encourage movement. Xbox, for example, launched Kinect, its motion sensor, two years ago, in which a virtual character on the screen mirrors players' body movements.
"We're fans of the sports games," says Kenix Chong Wei-peng, a mother of two. "My six-year-old daughter, Vanessa, is very active, but I avoid taking her outdoors because I have to take care of her two-year-old sister, too. We prefer staying home, and that's when Kinect comes in handy; it allows her to move around and burn up excess energy. Sometimes she goes to sleep straight after playing."
Chong adds that the gaming console allows her daughter to experience different situations. "Her father skis, so he'd like her to 'experience' it, as well, so that when she tries it for real, she knows what to expect," she says.
Many parents think of video games as merely entertainment, but developers are also trying to make games educational. Two such Xbox games are Kinect Sesame Street TV and Kinect Nat Geo TV.
"These games foster collaboration and engagement, and encourage a positive attitude towards learning," says Anna Chow, head of marketing for the consumer channels group of Microsoft Hong Kong.
