Do you know who El Cid is?

Last night, one of the kids finally conquered and united Spain, with Byzantine help and despite French and Milanese interference- in Medieval Total War, that is. This led to a discussion about how it really happened, and of course about every boy's hero, Roderigo Diaz y Vivar - or El Cid.. The other was still putting down a revolt in Scotland while Harrying the North.

For those who would decry computer games as dumbing down a generation, I would say look again - watching mine, I can see the benefits compared to my era:

- A deep grasp of History - the kids know their Goths from their Lombards, can spot a Spartan at sixty leagues and are intimately familiar with Carthaginian strategic issues vs Rome. Does it matter? Not if your ambition is to be on Big Brother, but it must have an impact one day if you want to join the Knowledge Economy. (Mind you, watching a program last night on TV re Slebonomics, I wonder....)

- A deep grasp of Politics and Economics - I could barely run a pocket money account, the kids are running countries - balancing economics, strategy, diplomacy, social policy and military effort. That gives the sort of insights that I haven't seen even in business simulation games that I've run over the years.

- A scary grasp of human nature - the Sims is an abstraction of the way we are, but not that much - watching their understanding of people develop via Sims gaming has led to some uncomfortable conversations at home about what really drives people, and what actually works in life.

My own observation is that understanding something in a game leads to curiosity, and researching / reading about it elsewhere - I have been marched to Foyle's by a 10 year old to buy books on Parthians and Sassanids (Persian dynasties, if you must know). Even the shoot-em-ups have some value (reaction times, long discussions on alien technologies and Sci Fi ideas) but we do find we have to limit these, it makes them too aggressive after awhile and they have to let of steam with real world exercise.

I don't know what impact this will have going forward, but I think any kid who is comfortable with the entire panoply of history, can conquer and run a country, and has a scarily perceptive grasp of human frailty by 15 is on a better track than My Generation at that age.

Doubtless there are some things that may be lost. Overprotective parenting means they don't run around the 'burb so much, and are maybe less streetwise therefore - but it is still the role of parents to ensure they face the sort of tests that build self confidence and self reliance in the Real World, despite the abuses of Health & Safety regulations. Some kids lose the opportunity to do more exercise (I think that is also partly a school's role though - kids need to run around, team sports are good for physical and psychological development, and if they are at school all week thats where it needs to happen ). And yes they chat to their friends over social media as well as face to face - but they are chatting more than ever before.

But overall I think they are probably getting a better deal this way.