“What are video games doing? If you have an age-appropriate game that’s not too easy or too hard, a video game is teaching a child how to cope with failure, deal with frustration, delay gratification, and often doing it in a social context, where they’re learning to negotiate with their friends, working as a team, or ‘OK, I beat you, you beat me, how do I handle all of these things?’ ” said Dr. Cheryl Olson, a public health researcher and co-author of the book “Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games.”
“But really, when you think about what’s happening, they’re often learning how to solve problems. ‘Hmmm, what happens if I open this chest here? What if I go into that room there?’ ”
Read (and listen to) the rest of this excellent feature by Commonhealth's Carey Goldberg.