Gaming should be fun and make your child happy right? Of course they should!
Games help us to relax, switch off and sometimes laugh out loud, getting rid of any worries or stresses we may have. They're not designed to make you worry more!
What are the facts?
A study conducted by Safer Internet Centre, showed over 50% of young people play online with 77% of 8-17s playing on a weekly basis.
That's a lot of play time! And parents, we know you have a lot of questions.
- What are the long term effects of video games?
- Does my child know the difference between the online world and real life?
- Who is my child interacting with in their gaming life?
Well, the real question is, have you ever tried playing yourself?
If the answer is no, then why not?
Get stuck in!
The best way to find out what your child is playing, is to play yourself. Playing games is the best way to see what your children are viewing.
- Does it promote violence?
- Does it contain explicit content?
- Does it use bad language?
Grab a headset, and dive into the online world and start exploring. Put your mind ease and have a go.
Fancy a bootcamp?
This isn't just any bootcamp. This is a gaming bootcamp for parents.
We teamed up with Giovanna Fletcher to put three parents through their gaming paces.
Find out what they discovered and whether the games their children play surprised them.
Want to learn more?
Want more top tips to help your child boss their online life? We thought so!
- Find out what happens to your child's brain when they game
- Is there such a thing as too much gaming?
Or why not check out the other episodes in the series?
- Meet the Pros discussing the positive effects of gaming
- Giovanna's Top Five Tips for helping your child game safely online
Films created in consultation with Childnet.
