Online gaming is one of the fastest growing trends in the current generation. Keeping children in mind, it is both helpful and harmful to them. Therefore, it is not advisable to keep them away from games altogether. You could be doing them more harm than good by banning them from playing online games.

In this post, we will talk about some of the solutions to make online gaming a safe and enjoyable experience for kids, considering their pros and cons.

Some disadvantages of online games for children are:

  • The Internet is an open place where a large amount of information can be accessed. Children can download games from less reputable sites. As a result, they end up downloading spam, viruses, malicious software, etc.

  • Some people are always trying to find ways to take unfair advantage of children. Children are tricked and misled and can also be abused and harassed online.

Now some advantages:

  • Online games make the child sharper and more mentally active. The games usually have various levels or missions to complete in limited times. This helps children learn about time management.

  • Mind and hand coordination. This is one of the main and important advantages that children experience when playing online games. Learn to coordinate your mind with the actions of your hands. As they execute those actions, they also develop mental strength.

  • Children tend to become socially active as they interact and play online with complete strangers. It also helps them in their social life.

Although the games have some drawbacks, parents can still protect their children from becoming victims of online attacks. Since it can still be very useful for children, parents should avoid completely banning them from playing online games. Rather, you will need to set some strict rules for the children to follow.

  • Secrecy: You can teach children to keep their personal information secret, especially not to share it on unknown sites.

  • All online games need passwords to access. Teach your child not to share this password with anyone to avoid cheating and getting hacked.

  • They should never give out their personal or real name online, unless the website has a good reputation.

  • You could teach them some general etiquette like paying fair play with other players.

  • Never trust anyone you meet online. Never agree to meet them in person.

  • Most importantly, online games should be played for fun only, and not for access to age-restricted activities such as gambling.

These are some things you can ask or tell your child to take care of, but as a parent, there are a few steps you can take to make online gaming a safe and enjoyable experience for them.

Some of them are:

  • Antivirus software is very essential and more importantly, it needs to be updated every day. It will protect your computer from common viruses automatically. They also come with parental guidance features, with which you can prevent your kids from entering illegal sites and unsafe sites.

  • Manually activate the family safety settings on your system. This will block sites you don’t want your kids to access.

  • Limit your gaming privileges during certain hours of the day. You can suggest and encourage them to play only safe and fun games like Minecraft, so they don’t search for games on their own.

Some solutions if the problem already exists:

  1. Everyone has their own personal instinct about anything good or bad. Make your children share everything with you. Make it comfortable for them to come forward and tell you everything, without fear of being punished.

  2. If someone pressures your child to share personal information or harasses them, you can always file a complaint against users or websites.

Enjoy the online gaming experience and have a lot of fun, but make sure you play safely.