Many people I speak to about my interest in games, especially parents, show much hesitaltion in terms of accepting that there is scientfically proven studies to show the benefits of playing games.

A disclaimer: As a parent, I don't want my kids sitting in front of a television or computer screen all day every day playing computer games. I am against video games that are violent as well.

When I talk about games, this is not only refering to video games as many people believe. The topic  includes board games such as Scrabble, card games like Uno, an even word searches, crossword puzzles, and sudoko. These games can act as tools to aid students and adults in their learning. I don't for a moment suggest that kids should play games instead of learn to read, write, or do arithmetic. What I do believe is that games can act as a very powerful aid in helping kids and even adults to learn skills that are important for their general education, as well as their future educational experiences in life.

Here is an interesting article from Yahoo news about the benefits of games. While the article specifically discusses video games, I believe that many of the ideas shared in the article can be applied to other types of games that were listed above in the previous paragraph. I also believe that the article in no ways suggests games as a replacement for "regular education."  

Here is a link to article. Please share your thoughts and reactions.


http://news.yahoo.com/7-health-benefits-playing-video-games-100500829.html