Most of the time when we hear about kids and video games in thew news, opinions are dominated by the voices of people like Jack Thompson, decrying video games as the poisons ruining the minds of youth. Maybe that's what makes it so refreshing to see a sober look at the effects games have on kids, resisting the urge to get into knee-jerk moral panics. The European Union recently produced a report offering the refreshing position that games are by and large good for kids, teaching important developmental skills.

Drafted by a Dutch Member of the European Parliament, the study suggests that games are a fantastic way to teach children reasoning skills, foster creative thinking, and encourage cooperation. Sure, maybe you won't pick up those skills playing Guitar Hero, but the report acknowledges that as a medium, games provide great opportunities to teach these sort of things. It calls for educators to embrace games, putting resources into developing more educational fare.

The report does admit that violence in games can stimulate violent behavior in players, but downplayed the risks, specifically suggesting that new laws to control game content and distribution are uncalled for. It posits that the best strategy would be to simply step up enforcement of the existing ratings system, calling on retailers to ensure that they're not selling inappropriate titles to young players.

Just remember the next time you feel disappointed in yourself for picking up the 360 controller instead of a book: you're not wasting time playing games, you're working on your reasoning skills.

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