The Secret to Healthy Video Gaming at Home: Asking Higher Questions

New Games for Change white paper highlights the hole between public narratives about video video games and households’ lived experiences. It additionally factors to a sensible alternative: almost 60% of youngsters say they need their dad and mom extra concerned of their video gaming lives.^[1] 

NEW YORK, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A brand new white paper printed at this time by Games for Change (G4C) reveals that one of the vital efficient methods for fogeys to help wholesome video gaming at dwelling could also be easy: ask higher questions, get extra concerned and perceive what video video games their kids are taking part in, who they’re taking part in them with and why taking part in video video games issues to them. Released on the annual G4C Festival in New York, the white paper ‘Raising Good Gamers: What Families Need to Know About Video Games and Well-Being,’ marks the following section of Raising Good Gamers, a G4C program supported by Tencent Games. The program gives households with sensible instruments and assets to assist them navigate video gaming at dwelling with extra confidence. Workshops will launch throughout the U.S. and the U.Okay. this September, with stay on-line webinars additionally changing into obtainable.

Parents are trying to find solutions. Children are asking for involvement

The white paper, authored by Dr. Rachel Kowert, Research Director at Games for Change, attracts on tutorial analysis, coverage and security steerage, trade and parent-focused research, international participation information, knowledgeable views and a brand new evaluation of almost 200,000 media articles and social posts from 15 nations, overlaying seven languages.^[2] 

The white paper reveals that oldsters are navigating a web-based dialog about video gaming the place sensible steerage and balanced views might be more durable to seek out. Yet that dialog doesn’t at all times mirror the position video video games now play in on a regular basis household life. Video video games have turn out to be a part of mainstream tradition, with greater than 3 billion folks taking part in worldwide.^[3] For many younger folks, video gaming is deeply social: 89% of U.S. teenagers say they play video video games with different folks.^[4] Nearly half (49%) of U.S. gamers say video video games have helped them keep related to family and friends, whereas 39% say they’ve met a superb buddy, partner, or important different by way of video video games.^[5] 

This factors to a transparent hole between public narratives about video video games and what number of households really expertise them at dwelling. While dad and mom are sometimes inspired to focus first on limits and dangers, many kids say they need one thing extra from the adults of their lives: curiosity, involvement and understanding. 

The white paper highlights that just about 60% of youngsters need their dad and mom to be extra concerned of their video gaming lives. That involvement can begin with easy questions: what video video games are you taking part in, who’re you taking part in them with, what do you get pleasure from about it and the way does it match into the remainder of your day?

Rather than counting on a single measure reminiscent of time spent taking part in video video games, the white paper factors to a extra balanced view of wholesome video gaming – one formed by the standard of the expertise, the relationships round it, the context of play and the conversations households have collectively.

“Parents are often being encouraged to worry before they’re encouraged to understand,” mentioned Dr. Rachel Kowert, Research Director at Games for Change. “Our video gaming experiences are not only defined by time spent playing. They’re shaped by the quality of the experience, the relationships around it and the conversations families have together. Rather than let worry opt us out, it’s time for parents to get curious and opt in, and our kids say they want that too.”

Turning analysis into sensible help for households

To assist dad and mom transfer from concern to connection and confidence, the white paper gives sensible, evidence-based steerage to assist households bridge the knowledge hole and make video video games a constructive a part of household life. It introduces the SPACE framework that encourages dad and mom to: 

• Show up with curiosity
• Play collectively
• Adjust for context
• Cultivate digital citizenship
• Establish boundaries collectively

Raising Good Gamers interprets this framework into sensible instruments households can use at dwelling. This features a suite of free supporting assets reminiscent of a household dialog information and a household video gaming settlement that oldsters and kids can form collectively, obtainable now at RaisingGoodGamers.com. 

Earlier this 12 months, this system piloted mother or father workshops the place households developed their very own video gaming agreements. Following the workshops, 82% of members reported feeling extra assured speaking with their kids about video gaming, whereas 81% rated the workshops as extremely useful.^[6] Building on these outcomes, Raising Good Gamers will launch in September with on-line assets and in-person workshops throughout the U.S. and U.Okay., adopted by a deliberate international enlargement in 2027. The first digital workshops will happen on September 29 [10 AM EST], October 20 [6 PM EST], and November 19 [3 PM EST]. 

“When parents sit alongside their children, ask questions and even pick up a device themselves, something changes. Anxiety gives way to curiosity, and conflict gives way to conversation. That’s what Raising Good Gamers is designed to encourage: practical, everyday ways for families to build trust, set expectations together and make video gaming part of a healthier family routine,” mentioned Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change.

Through Raising Good Gamers, Games for Change is making a platform to convey households, researchers, educators, policymakers and trade companions right into a extra balanced, evidence-based dialog about video video games and younger folks. Tencent Games’ help for this system, and its sponsorship of the Health and Wellbeing Track on the 2026 Games for Change Festival, displays its dedication to assist broaden that dialogue and advance sensible instruments, shared studying and accountable approaches to wholesome play.

“Positive play is a shared responsibility,” mentioned Danny Marti, Head of Public Affairs at Tencent. “Great player experiences are built not only on creativity and innovation, but also on thoughtful tools, safeguards and other wellbeing features that empower players and families. As those tools continue to evolve, there is a collective need to explain those features, so parents, caregivers, and communities know what is available, understand how to use them, and feel more confident supporting younger players.”

Following the launch of the white paper, Dr. Rachel Kowert will be part of Jude Ower MBE on the Good Game Club podcast. The episode will probably be launched on July 22, 2026, at 8.00 AM BST. More info is offered on Linktree. 

About Games for Change 

Since 2004, Games for Change (G4C) has empowered recreation creators and innovators to drive real-world change by way of video games and immersive media, serving to folks be taught, enhance their communities, and make the world a greater place. G4C companions with expertise and gaming firms, nonprofits, foundations, and authorities companies to run world-class occasions, public arcades, design challenges, and youth packages. G4C helps a world neighborhood of builders who use video games to sort out real-world challenges, from humanitarian conflicts to local weather change to schooling. For extra info, go to gamesforchange.org. Websites: gamesforchange.org and raisinggoodgamers.com

About Raising Good Gamers 

Raising Good Gamers (RGG) is a Games for Change initiative that gives research-backed instruments and assets to assist households have interaction with gaming confidently and constructively. From setting wholesome boundaries to navigating conversations about on-line behaviour, RGG helps dad and mom perceive how video games can help studying, connection, and digital citizenship. Through partnerships with recreation builders, studios, and youth organisations, RGG additionally works to foster safer, extra inclusive gaming environments. The program was initially based in 2020 by Games for Change and Katie Salen, in partnership with the Connected Learning Lab on the University of California, Irvine. 

About Tencent 

Tencent is a world expertise and leisure firm centered on creating connections and experiences that matter around the globe. Founded in 1998, Tencent is pushed by its mission to create “Value for Users” and apply “Tech for Good.” Tencent Games was launched in 2003 and has since grown into the main international platform for online game growth, publishing and operation, providing greater than 170 in-house developed and licensed video games throughout 200 nations and areas. Honor of Kings, PUBG MOBILE, League of Legends, Call of Duty: Mobile and Brawl Stars are amongst its hottest titles worldwide. Headquartered in Shenzhen, Tencent has been listed on the Main

Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since June 2004. Website: tencent.com 

About Dr. Rachel Kowert 

Rachel Kowert, Ph.D., is a analysis psychologist, award-winning creator, and globally recognised chief in coverage and product growth for non-profit, governmental, and non-governmental companies, with greater than 15 years of data-driven analysis centered on psychological well being and belief and security in digital video games. She has spoken about her work to 1000’s of individuals throughout the globe, together with the United Nations and the United States Congress, and has printed broadly on the psychology of video games and the connection between video games and psychological well being. Website: rkowert.com 

About Good Game Club 

The Good Game Club podcast is hosted by trade leaders Jude Ower MBE, CSO at PlanetPlay, and Mathias Gredal Nørvig, CEO of SYBO. Building on their bestselling e book Gaming For Good, the podcast brings collectively voices from throughout video games, tradition, enterprise and coverage to look at the constructive impression video games can have on folks and the planet.  Good Game Club is supported by the Dubai Films & Games Commission and Tencent, with the goal of galvanising and provoking audiences with thought-provoking and insightful conversations to assist form a extra constructive future by way of the facility of video games.  For extra info, go to Home | Good Game Club

^[1] Entertainment Software Association. (2025). ESA Holiday Survey
^[2] FTI Consulting. (2025, October).
^[3] Newzoo. (2025, Sept). The Global Games Market Report
^[4] Center for Scholars and Storytellers at UCLA. (2025). Teens and Screens 2025 Report
^[5] Entertainment Software Association. (2025). Essential facts about the US video game industry
^[6] Games for Change Parent Workshop (2026). New York: New York.   

SOURCE Tencent Games