The summer holidays are winding down, the new school shoes are blistering heels, and parents everywhere are dreading the inevitable return to the daily negotiate-and-plead routine regarding screen time. But before we lock the tablets away until December, let’s look at the data. It turns out, that gaming habit might actually be the smartest tool in your child’s pencil case.
With the International Day of Education arriving on January 24, the conversation around how we learn is shifting. For years, the narrative has been that screens are the enemy of focus. However, a new perspective suggests that if you can’t beat them, you should probably just ensure they are playing the right things.
The shift from distraction to development
It is easy to assume that time spent in a digital world is time wasted, but the numbers tell a different story. According to the “Australia Plays 2025” report by the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA), nearly three-quarters of Australian adults now believe that video games help children build essential life skills, creativity, confidence, and social interaction.
Perhaps even more surprising is that 42% of schools are already utilising games to facilitate teaching. It appears the classroom has evolved, and the “chalk and talk” method is being supplemented by “click and quest.” I know for example that my kids are playing games like Minecraft at school that teaches good problem solving, logic, math and spatial reasoning and it’s not alone.
Adam Seldow, Senior Director of Education Partnerships at Roblox, has noted that this transition is about meeting kids where they are. “As Aussie kids trade their boogie boards for backpacks… it’s the perfect time to remember that play is one of the most powerful forms of learning,” he says. “When kids explore and create together in immersive worlds, they aren’t just playing; they are building critical thinking skills.”
The digital playground: What should they be playing?
If we accept that gaming can be educational, the challenge for parents becomes curation. You want them learning to code, not just learning how to spend your credit card on digital accessories.
Roblox, the platform that likely already occupies a good chunk of your home bandwidth, has curated a ‘Learning Hub’ to help parents steer the ship. Here is a look at some of the standout experiences that might just make you feel better about that extra hour of screen time this weekend.
For the budding environmentalist: BBC Bitesize – Planet Planners Ages 5+ Geography textbooks can be dry, but managing a natural disaster in real-time? That sticks. This game tasks players with making high-stakes decisions about sustainability and city management. It teaches cause and effect on a global scale, fostering citizens of the world rather than just passive observers.
For the security conscious: Google Be Internet Awesome World Ages 5+ We teach kids to look both ways before crossing the street, and this is the digital equivalent. Players enter the world of the “Internauts” to battle hackers and phishers. It is a clever way to teach password security and information privacy without a lecture that goes in one ear and out the other.
For the younger siblings: Sesame Street – Magical Beastie Quest Ages 5+ Elmo and Cookie Monster are timeless. This experience focuses on empathy and care, tasks that are surprisingly complex for a game. Players care for “Magical Beasties,” teaching them words and helping them grow. It is wholesome, safe, and backed by the non-profit Sesame Workshop.
For the future tech CEO: Lua Learning Ages 5+ This is where the “play” truly turns into a hard skill. Lua is the scripting language used to build Roblox games. This experience teaches kids the fundamentals of coding with variables, functions, and events, so they can stop just playing games and start building them. It is a legitimate entry point into computer science.
For the history buff: Ecos – La Brea Ages 9+ Forget reading about the Ice Age; this lets you live it. Set 25,000 years ago in what is now Los Angeles, players simulate life as a Saber-tooth Cat or a Columbian Mammoth. It is an immersive biology and history lesson that explores the ecosystems of the past without the museum queues.
For the creative soul: Art Leap by Belvedere Museum Ages 5+ Art history often struggles to capture the attention of the TikTok generation, but Art Leap changes the medium. It allows players to jump inside masterpieces like Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss. It turns static canvas into an interactive narrative, making fine art accessible and, dare we say it, fun.
So Where Does That Leave Us?
As term time looms, the goal isn’t necessarily to increase screen time, but to optimise it. If the kids are going to be online, guiding them toward experiences that teach coding, empathy, or history seems like a fair compromise. Who knows? They might just learn something before the school bell even rings.
