Playing Video Games With Your Daughter May Be Good for Her Health

Becoming a parent signals the end of a few previously commonplace adult activities. No longer can you stay out until 3am with your friends or afford to take a decent vacation, however not all is lost.
According to researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah, dads who play video games with their daughters can actually improve their childâs overall sense of happiness and wellbeing. Adolescent girls who play age-appropriate video games with a parent, often dad, have been found to have better family connections than those who didnât.
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After studying around 280 families, BYU researchers published their findings in the Journal of Adolescent Health, finding a link between time spent playing video games with parents and overall happiness in girls age 11 to 16. Laura Padilla-Walker, one of the studyâs researchers, told LiveScience the findings only strengthen the idea that parental bonding time is essential, and that video games are âJust another way to be involved with your kids.”
The study found that young girls who played age-appropriate games, such as Mario Kart and Guitar Hero, were often better behaved and felt a deeper connection to their families than those who donât. However, boys in the same study showed no significant change, likely due to the titles they played, such as Call of Duty and even the best Halo game, as well as the sheer amount of time they spent on average playing video games in general. Other studies have actually found that boys who play video games in excess, especially the age-inappropriate ones, actually end up doing worse in school and are often unhappier, likely due to decreased time spent with family and friends.
Researchers stress that the study only showed a link between family game time and happiness, not whether one directly causes the other, however, Padilla-Walker still says “I think we can encourage more parents to play video games with their kids, especially age-appropriate games.â
So dust off your console and stretch out those gaming muscles, dads. Science says itâs for the best and who are we to question science? And why not try gaming as exercise, it would be good for her physical health too!