In new running series The Family Perspective, FamilyFriendlyVideoGames.com founder Johner Riehl takes a closer look at important and noteworthy issues that relate to families and video games. Over the coming weeks, we’ll examine research and topics from a family gaming point-of-view to dig deeper into issues and research that parents should be aware of, promote healthy gaming habits and highlight positive impacts of video games as part of family life.
Great-grandma loved it. All the aunts and uncles were dancing. Cousins were singing along. Even the two-year olds were getting in on the action. What was it that brought all these generations together at a recent family reunion? The video game Just Dance from Ubisoft.
Mind you, we’ve played our fair share of Rummikub or Balderdash at these yearly events. But last year was the first time that any game provided a way for our entire clan to participate in something with everyone at the same time. The trick to making this lasting memory was finding the right game, and in this case, the right video game.
It’s always seemed obvious to families that activities like playing board games, make-believe, or even making music together could strengthen the family bond. But many parents view video games as a solitary, sedentary, time-wasting activity, when the truth is that video games have in fact emerged as a viable option for family game time, and can have great benefits for families who are willing to enjoy them together.
“As parents, it is important for us to find things in common with our kids and build those connections,” says Mary Heston, social media director for WiredMoms, an organization that empowers Moms to use technology to make their lives easier and more fun. “Playing video games together is a great equalizer.”
“Being invited by your children to play video games with them is like getting an invitation into their world,” says Chasity Hicks, a mother of three kids (14, 11 and 6) from Oklahoma. Hicks admits she’s not good at some of the games she plays, but that’s not the point – rather, it’s that she has fun with her kids. “Video games have brought my family closer together,” she says. “I definitely wouldn’t trade anything for the memories made by my family’s love of playing games.”
The Hicks family offers a great example of the many types of family-friendly games available today for different age ranges. She and her husband play NBA basketball simulations with their 14-year-old son; dancing game Dance Central and motion-powered outing Kinect Sports with their 11-year-old daughter; and virtual pet simulator Kinectimals with their 6-year-old. “We still get all the benefits of spending time together and having a great time while doing it.” She also likes that games can be educational, help with hand-eye coordination, and provide a physical workout.
Family-friendly games such as these illustrate that many of today’s top family titles are designed to get everyone up and moving around. The recent trend of “motion gaming” started with the Wii, but now has been taken even further with Sony’s PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect Camera system, in which the players themselves are the controllers.
“We adore Kinect,” says Heston, a mom of four kids ranging from 13-21. “The dance games are really fun for the entire family, and definitely provide lots of laughs for the kids when Mom and Dad get up there to shake their groove thing.” Heston’s family plays games on nearly every console available, and even participates in a family fitness challenge using active, exercise-oriented “exergame” Wii Fit.
In fact, many of today’s family video game choices require a level of physical activity that exceeds watching TV or sitting down to play a traditional board game, and oftentimes is more than enough to make players break a sweat.
In addition to having physical benefits, research is showing that playing the right kinds of video games together can have favorable emotional impacts as well.
A recent study from BYU has shown that girls in particular greatly benefit from playing video games together with their parents. These positive benefits included a higher-level of parent-child connectedness, and research further found that girls who played age-appropriate video games with their parents had lowered levels of depression, anxiety and aggressive behavior, while also exhibiting a higher level of pro-social behavior toward family members.
In her recent book Reality Is Broken: How Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change The World, author Jane McGonigal notes that studies by both university researchers and the U.S. Army Mental Health Assessment Team show that playing cooperative games face-to-face with friends and family can produce positive impacts on health and happiness.
The key for families is obviously finding the right kind of games to play together. “I know a lot of parents who don’t let their children play any type of video games, but I think that just like a lot of other things, it can be a good thing if monitored and limited,” says Hicks.
In her role at WiredMoms, Heston is tuned into the concerns of many parents who are intimidated by video games. “Mostly we hear that parents are tired, or that they don’t understand the technology, or they aren’t really into killing zombies. We encourage these moms to take baby steps and start out by sitting down with their kids and having them explain their favorite game.”
Heston recommends using the printable PACT (a pledge between parents and kids and guide to healthy gaming that families can agree to abide by) from GetGameSmart.com as a starting point for families looking for a new game. This engages not just parents, but also the kids. “Having a discussion with your kids before you even go out shopping for the games empowers (families) to make better decisions and definitely prevents confrontations at the video game store.”
Families can also check out a number of online resources available to parents to get information and recommendation on videogames. The ESRB has a list of such sites available right from its online website.
While video games won’t always lead to a multi-generational laugh-fest like they did at our family reunion, they can have some very important effects on family relationships, and deserve to be thought of as something that can – and should – be played together. Families that can embrace playing videogames as part of their everyday life will likely find a greater sense of cohesion and communication than families who still view video games as a solitary waste-of-time.
“Playing video games with your kids makes them see you as a person, not just a parent,” Hicks adds.
And ultimately, that type of connection from video games is exactly what many of today’s families need.
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Scott Steinberg is the CEO of video game consulting firm TechSavvy Global, and founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV. Hailed as a top technology and video game expert by dozens of publications from USA Today to Forbes and NPR, he’s covered the field for 400+ outlets from Playboy to Rolling Stone. A frequent on-air analyst for networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, he’s also the author of Video Game Marketing and PR.