Kids rule the wired world and high tech toys like robots are as ubiquitous as yesterday’s talking soft toys. Kids these days are so technologically inclined that it scares me. Challenge a kid to a Nintendo game and get ready to be left in the dust.
I'm sure he ain't looking for a Tommy GunAlthough pc games and a game of Guitar Heroes on the Nitendo Wii are not the usual modes of learning, it does benefit kids in many ways. His ability to strategise, and quick think, uses his motor skills and alertness will all be on radar as he plays these types of strategy games.
The article featured a Primary 2 boy, Jonathan Chew and his passion in gaming. Jonathan soared to level 15 playing Ace Combat 6 within 2 days, defeating his father,45, a banker, who was left behind in level 3. Jonathan devises strategies as he plays the games. To me, this is essential to a kid, especially in their early years, as their mind can absorb and retain information like a sponge, and being analytic and having the ability to strategise does help in their studies for the future, especially in inferring and mathematical concepts.
I have never sat down and thought about issues like these this way. I would look at a robot and think “Wow! That is so cool!”I have never thought about toys in terms of its communication value. A simple handheld game is a form of communication. A high-tech scribbles is a form of a computer in which it in turn is a form of communication. These are the sort of communication devices mapped out for kids these days. No wonder my godson was so thrilled when his watch could release bullets.
As for me, I’ll stick to my plain old soft toys.
