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My 6-year old daughter decided to spend her savings on a Bratz Hair Magic Set. She must have seen the wonderful things you can do with this doll and her hair in a TV commercial.  But her disappointment was enormous. The colors of the hairpaint are terribly ugly and extremely sticky, the accessories to make the hair curl and waffle do not work at all and break after the second usage, same for the clips. The 36 euro doll disappeared in the bin after one hour and left me with a very frustrated daughter who wished she had bought rollerskates instead. Toys should be manufactured to empower children. The only empowerment my little girl got, was to never like anything related to Bratz again. 

In the Netherlands the advertising agency JuniorSenior launched with big success Vitamine G. Or better Gaming is Good. Indeed there was a lot of negative news before this promotional campaign started and parents were not familiar with the dangers and risks of (excessive) gaming. With Gaming is Good parents (and kids) can learn what are the pros and cons of gaming. And why gaming can also be positive in a child’s development. Practically the same initiative was introduced this week in France with the website www.pedagojeux.fr. The French government together with partners inform especially parents in a very objective way about gaming. Well succeeded and clear website.

There is a revolution going on in the world of gaming. Where at first many researchers, politicians and parents were fiercely against children playing games, because of the fear of being isolated, becoming more violent, becoming less creative, school results would go down, chances of getting addicted, etc.., the opposite has been proven true. The famous psychiatrist and psychoanalyst for children, Serge Tisseron, has done extensive research and found that children are more social, only they meet in new surroundings, the knowledge they acquire through gaming is very useful in school and in real life, and that they become addicted is not likely at all.

I am very much in favor of the use of computer games in schools. Learning by playing is much more effective than listening and repeating a teacher. There are a lot of possibilities already. One example:

Digital schoolboards: This touchscreen can work as a traditional schoolboard for writing on lines or squares for calculations, but you can use it as an internet screen as well. Teachers can use Google earth for Geography or films about the human body for Biology for example.

Last year we did a JuniorSenior research among children with the subject Have, Have, Have. It is amazing how many things young people have in their rooms. We found out that the average value of belongings in children’s rooms from the age of 10 is about 1500 euros. And they still want more. It is in their nature; children are true collectors. It is difficult for them to understand that, even if there is money, parents do not buy everything for them. I gave in to the pester power several times, when my girls wanted to have nice ‘educational’ toys or books. But too often I saw the little gift lying somewhere in a corner never to be touched again. This afternoon we walked into one of the biggest toy stores that exist. I warned my princesses that they could look, admire and touch everything, but not ask to have. It worked! We spent more than 30 minutes in a toy shop without buying anything, but having a great time anyway!

JuniorSenior is promoting the 4 Planet Rescue games distributed by Ubisoft. Nice fun games, with a lot of educational values for young children.

The European Comission makes sites and games on this subject too. With community money of course. But if these sites are not promoted in schools or directly to kids nobody will see them and the money is wasted.