By Alessandra Robinson
How many of you have heard adults say, “Why are you always playing those video games?” or “Turn off those video games before they rot your brain!” Many adults think that video games are worthless. But guess what? They do serve a purpose. Games provide many important lessons and skills kids like me need today.
To prove my point I will tell you about two games that I like to play: the Michael Jackson Experience and Kinect Sports. The Michael Jackson Experience is a game that teaches you to dance and sing like Michael Jackson (spin and shout). The Kinect camera catches your exact movements on the screen while preparing you for the upcoming moves. This is a lot of fun and gives you a thriller of a work out.
On Kinect Sports, my family likes to play all together in the party-play mode. This gives us all a chance to work cooperatively as a team, and challenge each other in Olympic-type sports. My favorite sport is boxing. I get to knock out my annoying big brother without ever touching him or getting yelled at. The game also has an audience mode where the fans cheer for you when you raise your hands.
Another great game is the Lego Batman on Nintendo System called the Wii. You can play as Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and other DC Comic characters while unlocking challenges through creative thinking and problem solving. Each level poses new puzzles and it gets more complex the longer you play. I like to play this game with my soon-to-be stepbrother, because he is a Lego freak and he always unlocks all the cool characters and vehicles.
Video games are worth playing because they promote family time, exercise, creativity, problem solving, and better reflexes. I highly recommend that every kid in school–every kid in the United States–should buy an Xbox Kinect or Nintendo Wii to help get him or her get motivated, stay active, and just play games.
Alessandra Robinson is a fifth grader at Wadsworth Elementary. This piece was solicited for publication before it won first place for fifth grade speeches at Wadsworth, in this year’s countywide Tropicana speech competition. Ally is the daughter of Rich Robinson and Catherine Groom.
emile says
Excellent piece! Well-deserving of the First Place prize!
Outsider says
Nice job Ally! You make some good points, and I agree that video games are not all bad and certainly CAN challenge the mind and body. Like anything else, they should be played in moderation so as to not exclude “real” sports, socialization and HOMEWORK. ;)
LadyPirate82 says
With all the negativity in the media about video games recently, this article is like a breath of fresh air. Coming from a 5th grader makes it so much better, too. If your interested Ally, there are some other positive effects of playing video games that you don’t have use for yet. Gamers have faster reaction times to visual changes and can differentiate more shades of grey than non-gamers. So when you learn to drive, you’ll be better prepared to notice and respond to potential hazards, like a car in your way on a rainy night.
Amanda Orneck says
Many game journalists can learn a thing or two from Miss Robinson here. It’s important to realize that video games are just like any other form of entertainment, and have the added benefit of providing exercise and social interaction.