Video Games as Gifts for Children

We care about them. We want them to grow up in the most appropriate environment. We know they are suggestible and we are constantly worrying if the gifts they receive really support and enhance the personality and character traits we want to inculcate in them.

Kids are innocent, their fickle minds jumping from one thought to another at lightning speed. At the same time, they are absorbing information, beliefs and behavioral patterns like a sponge. In these delicate years, we as grownups, battle the question: Are toys and video games appropriate gifts for them?

Let's take all the stereotypical arguments out of the picture and see what it really means to give the kids the toys and video games they love so much to receive and play with.

It starts with the display of caring and unconditional love. Just imagine what it would mean to open a gift pack with the sweetest pair of red bows and as you impatiently tear away the packing papers, out pops the cool video game that you have been yearning to have, literally from the day after the last holiday or birthday. It's a sense of love and care at its memorable best!

The right game is a wonderful tool for creative development. Contrary to popular belief, not all games are centered around violence and mayhem. There are educational games that are equally entertaining. However, kids might be more inclined to have the ones that are more popular amongst peers and not all such games are really appropriate for them. The way to handle such situations is to make the child come up with his wish list of games and remove any games that you feel are inappropriate. The next step would be to playfully convince him that the games left on the list (and the one he's actually going to get) are the really cool ones and he should be happy to get them. Now the stage is set for the kid to receive a valuable tool to help his creative development even while he's immersed in his world of enjoyment.

While making a selection of the best toys for a child, it's imperative to ensure that they are age appropriate. It will ensure safety as well as avoid frustration of having a game that's too simple or too complicated for the child.

In addition to over-all creative development and in some cases, enhancing specific creative faculties, a video game promotes a couple of very important traits - healthy competition and sharing.

A lot of video games require multiple players. Kids being kids, they generally prefer playing with friends rather than alone. This creates an environment where winning becomes important and losing, a crying game. With a little support from parents and others, such a situation could be turned around to teach two great life lessons to the child; One, everything is not about winning and losing, but about the experience of doing and second, losing is not as bad as it looks because it's merely a learning experience to do better next time.

Last, but not the least, allowing kids to have and play video games and other toys helps develop the idea of sharing. Kids typically get very possessive about their favorite toys, but at the same time, they have to share it, to be able to play with their friends. They also understand that if they don't share it, other kids are not going to share their toys either. This leads to understanding the value of sharing as one of mutual benefit.

Looking at all these benefits, giving kids toys and video games is absolutely fine, as long as it's done prudently and followed through by helping the kid learn and assimilate the traits that we expect him to.