Playing games online has become more commonplace in recent years, especially among young adults and children.
Many parents are less than eager to let their children play online games due to horror stories about inappropriate interactions between children and adults or fears that their children may get scammed.
These are all normal worries. In this article, we highlight the pros and cons of online gaming for kids as well as show you how to keep your children safe when playing online.
What is online gaming?
There are benefits of your children playing online games. It can help them to become more tech-savvy. It can help with imagination. Some games are immersive, especially those that can be played on AMD gaming laptops.
Some games are one player, such as Angry Birds. Others are multi-player, like World of Warcraft. Many games will allow your children to communicate with others playing the game. This can cause problems as they will not necessarily ‘know’ these people and may be treated in a more mature way than they are ready for.
Online gaming for kids; ratings
There are also some things that you need to be aware of, such as age ratings and in-game chat functions as these can be dangerous and a place for inappropriate messages to be sent and received.
As mentioned before, most online games have age ratings which are based on the content of the game. So be sure that any game your child is engaged with is age-appropriate for them.
This is easy to spot with the ESRB Rating. ESRB on its own is the age rating for games that are child friendly, so if your children are younger, aim to only allow them to play this rating.
If your child is over the age of 10, you can allow them to play an ESRB 10+. This age rating is in essence the same as ESRB, but the game may have jumpy bits or some louder noises which could be scary. The next bracket is ESRB T or Teen, which is suited for children aged 12 years or older.
ESRB Mature 17+ is more explicit. Sexual scenes in these games can be implied as well as bad language. There may also be smoking and drinking.
Risks of online gaming
The risks of online gaming have been touched upon. Scams are a key concern for many parents as targeting children is an easy option for scammers.
Check that the games do not offer in-game purchases as these can become pricey.
Also, many sites with chat logs can be an area for predatory adults. Keep your wits about you and observe your child during any game that they may play with a chat log. If you feel unsure, stop them from playing the game.
Keeping your kids safe
The easiest way to keep your children safe is for you to play the game first.
If it passes that check, be sure to alter the settings on it. Some games can shut down in chat options as well as in-game purchases. Try to keep communication open with your child. Ask who they are playing the game with. Explore what they may be sharing with those playing the game. If any flags are raised, contact legal authorities.
