Tips to “level up” your online gaming support for youth

Did you know? According to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, 23 million Canadians play video games. Younger Canadians are more likely to play video games with 89% of 6-17-year-olds playing video games compared to 61% of 18-64-year olds.

While there are benefits that come with gaming, including promoting positive mental health among youth and helping kids develop skills in areas like reading, math, problem-solving and collaboration, online gaming also presents a number of risks to youth. To ensure youth experience the benefits of online gaming, it’s extremely important that parents are aware of what their kids are doing online, the risks associated, and strategies to help make their online adventures safer.

To learn more, social media content creators and TELUS Wise advocates, Casey Palmer and Katie Hession sat down with Matt Aiken, TELUS Wise Ambassador to discuss and share valuable information for parents on how to level up on their online gaming support.

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Here are a few key takeaways:

• Safety tips for online gaming: The most important thing parents can do is get involved and have regular conversations with your kids. But following that, there are three critical factors to consider: time, breaks and content. Check out Level 1 to learn more.

• Questions to ask before playing a new game: Before you allow your child to play any video games that you’re unfamiliar with, that are unrated or contain user-generated content, ask them the following questions: what, where and who. Watch Level 2 to learn more.

• Gaming considerations: Gaming often gets a bad reputation, but it can actually be an incredible tool and very educational - so long as you manage three things: screen time, content and chat. To learn more, watch Level 3.

• Benefits of online gaming: Gaming can help develop critical thinking and decision skills, encouraging self esteem, and positively impacting socialization skills. To keep leveling up, watch Level 4.

To become even more of a pro, check out our Helping our kids safely navigate video games guide. It's a great resource for parents, offering tips on everything from content to screen time to cyberbullying, and more. Download the guide to learn how you can help your kids maintain a safe and healthy relationship with video games and make them a fun part of family life as well.