Each year, this space presents a parents guide to video games as the holidays approach. It can be a tricky subject to write about since there are as many theories of good parenting as there are kids, and interactive entertainment, online play and the issues they raise can seem like they are moving at warp speed.
The goal, therefore, will be to find a balance between extremes and offer some hands-on tips and tricks for parents with younger children facing an increasingly digital age.
Resources
In 2008, there has been a marked increase in the number of reputable studies into video games, online interactions and their effects on young minds.
In March, the Byron Review, a wide-ranging study commissioned by the British government, released a must-read report called Safer Children in a Digital World. In it, Tanya Byron, a clinical psychologist, laid out three main areas of concern about games: They eat up time, perhaps keeping young people from engaging in other activities; online games can expose young players to potentially harmful outsiders; and children and young teens often play games meant for an older audience. (The report and a special section for kids can be found at www.dcsf.gov.uk/byronreview.)
Practical advice for dealing with those issues is the subject of this year's best book about interactive entertainment, Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Games and What Parents Can Do (Simon & Schuster; $30). It was written by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, co-founders and directors of the Harvard Medical School's Center for Mental Health and Media, and it cuts through much of the divisive rhetoric and misinformation presented by video-game bashers and boosters. If video games are causing more stress than enjoyment at home, this book will probably help – children looking for gift ideas for mom and dad take note.
For parents who just want to figure out which games are safe buys for the holidays, retail boxes display ratings similar to the ones for movies: E is for Everyone, T for Teen (age 13 and up) and Mature games are aimed at the 17-and-over crowd (check out esrb.org for the full rundown). There are also some excellent websites with family-oriented reviews such as GamerDad.com and Commonsensemedia.com.
The early years
What most of those studies and experts will tell you is that parents need to spend more time sitting down with their children in front of their screens. This is especially true as kids experience new technologies and media for the first time, and it is games that are increasingly being used as gateways to digital literacy.
Unfortunately, a lot of those would-be gateways consist of crappy make-work projects or advertisements in disguise. I could list some of the awful titles for the very young that I have tried recently, but it might be more productive to single out three games that get it right.
The first is Didi & Ditto Preschool: Mother Nature's Visit ($30) from Montreal-based Kutoka Interactive. This is a newly released game for preschoolers – the box helpfully provides an age range, from two to four years old – and it plays on most PCs and Macs. Didi and Ditto, both colourful beavers, have appeared in other titles, and here they are part of a community organizing a special party. The game is absolutely beautiful to look at, and it rewards curiosity, providing a range of interactive results for young users getting used to moving the cursor around.
The activities are enjoyable and sneakily educational, too, introducing math and science concepts along with the music and art. It is, in short, the perfect steppingstone game, and its artistic presentation will probably keep parents engaged as well.
Friends included
