by Aaron Harris

Created on: January 07, 2009   Last Updated: October 31, 2010

I think video games are good for everyone. Of course, with everything else in life nowadays, only in moderation. I played video games growing, and I still play them to this day. For teens though, I'd say video games can teach a good majority of them some very valuable skills. And even spark an interest in furthering an education so that they may one day be a game maker themselves.

The way I see it, if a teenage kid is at home playing a video game, he's not out there on the streets somewhere doing drugs, robbing convenience stores, or getting into trouble. Parents can take solace in knowing their child is home and not in with the wrong crowd.

During the teenage years, they learn to drive a car. This can be scary to some parents I'm sure. I know my mom was terrified when I borrowed the car for the first time. But give a kid a couple years of Nintendo and their eye-hand coordination has improved. Many don't think about it much, but that kind of "skill" is pretty hand when driving in busy traffic. Being able to see something about to happen and react, before it actually does can spare your car some serious damage. Or your kid's life.

And with so many games on the market that can be played with others over the internet, they can also learn some teamwork skills. I didn't have that luxury growing up. Only when I had a friend over or my brother and I played was when I had the opportunity to play with someone else. Teamwork is a necessity later on in life (I'm military, and got a crash course in teamwork in boot camp). Everything from high school football to the school play. Learning to work together with others and succeed (or fail while still giving it your all) is an invaluable skill.

We can't forget a teen's need to be physically active. In comes the Nintendo Wii. Took me awhile, but I finally managed to get ahold of one. And I tell you, that thing wore me out. Got my heart rate up, fatigued my arms and legs some. I felt like I had just had a moderate workout. Put something like this in the hands of a growing young man or woman and they can game all day and get some decent exercise in too. And chances are they won't wear out as fast as I did. Broke a sweat playing the boxing on it.

I'm not going to pretend that video games don't have any negative influences. They do. Grand Theft Auto is a good example. But stuff like that is a responsibility on the parent's part to ensure their kids aren't playing the wrong kinds of games. Or at the very least, their kids are responsible enough to know the difference between life and fantasy, right and wrong.

That's all I got. I'm sure there are other excellent points out there, but they are escaping me at the moment. Hope this helped some. My Wii beckons me...

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