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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Video games are good for girls if parents play too


John Idler and his children, Elizabeth, 13, and Josh, 14, play video games together last week at their Moorestown, N.J., home.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
John Idler and his children, Elizabeth, 13, and Josh, 14, play video games together last week at their Moorestown, N.J., home. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Dads who still haven't given up video games now have some justification to keep on playing -- if they have a daughter.

Researchers from Brigham Young University's School of Family Life conducted a study on video games and children between 11 and 16 years old. They found that girls who played video games with a parent enjoyed a number of advantages. Those girls behaved better, felt more connected to their families and had stronger mental health. Professor Sarah Coyne is the lead author of the study, which appears Feb. 1 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

"The surprising part about this for me is that girls don't play video games as much as boys," Coyne said. "But they did spend about the same amount of time co-playing with a parent as boys did." Science Daily Full story.

I have no girls. But I am the undisputed Mario champ in our family. Do/did you play video game with your kids?



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.