Christophe De bont 
22/11/2018
Video games have become an integral part of the life of our children. They play popular games like Fortnite and Minecraft on an almost daily basis. The internet has become an important playground, bringing a new set of rules and challenges.
New research results of the Belgian Entertainment Association show that most parents:
- have already played a game together with their kids
- have rules about game time or what games can be played and 40% of them often have discussions around the subject
- know about parental controls but only 25% are making use of them, suggesting they don’t really know how
- know more or less what their kids are doing, yet almost two in three would like to be informed even better
The survey, conducted of 600 parents with gaming children between 8 and 16, was the starting point for the development of Speel het Slim (link in Dutch), a new awareness campaign for parents that was unveiled by ambassadors Véronique De Kock (VL), Sandrine Corman (WA) and Minister of Digital Agenda Alexander De Croo this morning.
Aiming to make playing video games safe and enjoyable for everyone, the website explains how to install various parental controls, provides helpful information on the latest popular games and PEGI rating and contains useful tips and video testimonies about how to succesfully integrate video games in our everyday lives. If you think you’ve mastered everything, you can even test your video game literacy (link in Dutch).
It’s a useful guide for parents who’ve lost their way a bit on the digital playground and a great manual for connecting with your kids through the unique language of video games.
The campaign is supported by the Minister of Digital Agenda Alexander De Croo, Mediawijs and the Flemish Minister of Culture, Media, Youth and Brussels Sven Gatz, and was launched and developed in conjunction with the following partner organisations.
