James has been pestering his Mum and Dad for a Nintendo DS for quite some time now. But his parents have discovered something else mush cheaper, which could satisfy James urge to play games in his spare time. They have found that there are a huge range of games one can play online which cater for kids of varying age groups. And the benefit of this is that James, aged 9 and his sister, Melanie, aged 6 can both make use of the computer they already have and hook into some gaming sites suitable for their respective levels.
James has accepted his parents decision to let him play suitable online games instead of buying him a Nintendo DS. And Melanie is over the moon that her parents are letting her experience some games as well. Both parents helped their children find some suitable games and enjoyed the experience of playing along with them the first couple of times at playing the game. The children enjoyed some quality time with the parents ( 1 at a time ) and this gave the parents a chance to find out if they were happy to let the kids play these games.
Here are some points about kids online games you might be interested in:
1. The games are usually set into age groups and on the landing page on the gaming site should be the information with regards to the suitable age the game is meant for. Sometimes, however it is not clearly marked. A good idea would be to watch the children to see if they are playing age appropriate games.
2. Some gaming sites are free and some require a site gaming membership at a cost whether it be a one off cost or monthly subscription. If you have several similar aged children then getting a paid membership could be worthwhile. But you need to remember that kids change their tastes readily, that the free sites may be the way to go. If you choose a free membership you can cancel this at any time, but make sure you understand the cancellation procedure which should be outlined on the site.
3. Many online gaming sites are sponsored by toy companies and other child orientated corporation and hence will include popular cartoon and movie characters eg Disney characters. Games will be made based around these characters and they can be educational and fun. You can get word games, maths games, reasoning games, colourful games, games with fun sounds and much more. Hence these online games have the ability to catch your child's interest long enough to teach them something without them knowing that are learning eg 1 + 3 = 4.
4. The better the game, the more the child will play and hence they will learn something faster. People seen to learn things more easily with repetition.
Getting back to James and Melanie. Both children are enjoying playing suitable games on the computer.
Will you let your kids try online gaming sites instead of a Nintendo DS?