My Cutie Pie gets a reward every few days when he’s been respectful, listening, helpful and basically a good boy and good brother among other things. His reward of choice isn’t money for new toys, it’s 15 minutes playing computer games. At first I wasn’t too keen on this, but I know the computer is a major draw to Cutie Pie, so we took measures to make this a fun reward we could both be happy with.
We’ve been careful to introduce him to games that have an educational slant to them. Of course, they’re designed to be fun, so he doesn’t know he’s learning!
I won’t go into the debate of screen time or not, rewards or not, etc, because I agree with parts of each viewpoint. Instead I will just mention a few things I’ve noticed since Cutie Pie started selecting game time as a reward every now and then.
Cutie Pie has become more coordinated using a mouse (we have a tracball which is also fine motor), more coordinated using both hands at the same time, is following picture instructions, is learning to spell and read simple words and instructions as well as computer ‘language’, and is getting very good at problem solving. He’s already had a pretty good concentration span, but he has also gotten a little more patient with himself, giving things several attempts before asking for assistance. You can probably throw in discipline as well, as he is expected to end his computer time when the timer goes off. For a 5 year old that takes discipline!
Now, I know excessive use of computer games is not good for my kiddos, just like excessive TV and sweets are detrimental and that there are strong arguments against this. However, I am also willing to look for advantages of limited computer use to help facilitate some sneaky learning while satisfying Cutie Pie’s urge to be like most other boys his age. (Also because his kindergarten utilizes some of the same games in their learning time, I’m finding this is a good reinforcement of what he’s learning in school.)
Another time I will share some of Cutie Pie’s favorite games and apps. But in the meantime, what are your kiddos playing?
My kids are obsessed with Minecraft, but they are a little older. There are some really great educational web sites and games out there though and a lot of fun too!
Alison