Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive & Creative Self

by Manoush Zomorodi

Just as with adults, games expert and champion McGonigal believes that for kids, it isn’t so much about which game but how you play it. To steer children into becoming players who don’t use games to escape real life but instead become more confident, focused, social, and creative problem solvers, there is one thing no parent should ever do. “Do not shame your children about the games they play,” she said. That means never saying things such as “Stop wasting your time and do something real.” Trivializing a kid’s favorite video game will not get him or her to stop playing. It will only serve to “develop that escapist mind-set” by reinforcing the idea that their interests don’t matter and that games don’t have a connection with the real world. Instead, engage with children by asking questions about the game. How you play it. What’s hard. What’s cool. How they’ve gotten better at the game. You know, the basics. They’ll probably roll their eyes at you, but McGonigal said, “That conversation alone can really transform a young person in terms of their ability to bring all of these gameful strengths to school, to sports, to their personal relationships, and to themselves.”