Weve all heard the many sayings from our parents: Stop playing video games, theyre no good for you or If you keep playing video games youll become stupid! Im here to prove these wrong. Video games are not always mindless graphics put onto the TV or computer for your child to become zombies. Video games can have a lot of positive effects in all actuality.

There are two major positive things video games do: provide interaction and inspire creativity. Each has different effects on the child. Taking a look at both and really understanding them could help parents make the right decision about video games.

First we have provide interaction. It is just what it says. The video game provides a way for the child to interact with something. Its a lot better than just watching some TV show or movie. Theyre not sitting there mindlessly. They actually have to think about what theyre doing. A lot of games provide a surprisingly entertaining and educational amount of problem solving in them. This is very good for stimulating the childs mind and getting them to think out of the box. Its a much easier process to get them to do this than a bunch of pointless word problems for homework.

How do you know this is interaction is positive? Look at the most recent television shows for kids. Most if not all of them have the child interacting in some way. Some shows get the kid to dance, to jump, to move in some way. Some ask them questions or have them singing along. The list goes on and on of how they benefit the childs learning. Lots of video games are like this. Even non-educational video games provide a healthy amount of learning and exercise for the mind.

More importantly, for me as a writer, I find that video games provide a great amount of inspiration in creativity. I grew up playing video games. Its not the only thing I did, I wasnt just sitting on the couch all day playing them, but I did play my fair share. Did it have a negative effect on me? I think not. I did well in school regardless of the video games. I stayed healthy regardless of the video games. I took up an interest in writing from the video games.

Video games present a lot of information to kids. In my case, and probably like many others out there, I was inspired by them. I took plots, characters, worlds and everything I loved about them and started to write my own things. They made me be creative and develop my own stories to tell. At first it might have been similar adaptations to the game since I was young and still not that experienced in writing and reading. But like books, video games helped me develop my ideas in my head and focus me on a path of motivation and creativity.

I hope parents dont stop their kids from playing games. They should allow them to but of course with supervision and direction. Not every game out there is good for a kid. Parents should know what their child is playing. They should look into what the games are about. They may help the child in more than an educational way. It could make them be a more creative person, even boosting their self-esteem and interest in writing and the arts as it did for me. The parent should even try playing the video game. Its never too late to be inspired by them.