Online Games For Kids

Buying new video games for your children’s Playstation, Wii or Xbox gets expensive fast. And even buying used games can add up. The good news is that you don’t have to spend all that money. With your laptop, your kids can discover a wealth of online games that they can play for free.

An added bonus is that many of the online games are educational and creative, stimulating your children’s intellects and helping them fine-tune skills that they need in school, such as spelling, math and reading. And by using the laptop, you can keep the kids nearby as they play, so you’ll know what they’re viewing online at all times.

As with all computer use for kids, you’ll want to thoroughly check out the sites your children use before they get started. (For more advice on keeping your kids safe online, read “Keeping Kids Safe Online,”) For young children, one good way to keep their computer gaming limited to sites you’ve deemed suitable is to create a Word document for the child with clickable links to each site you let them use. When your child is ready to go online, just open up the Word document and show him or her how to click on the links to play.

If you have more than one child, these sites have an added benefit. In addition to games, many offer printable activities, like puzzles, word games or art projects, that you can print out for your children to do “offline.” That means one child can play on the computer while the others play offline. It also helps you manage your children’s computer time—they’re more likely to willingly log off the laptop if they know they can work on a fun craft project afterward! (Need more ideas for limiting kids’ computer time? See “Managing Computer Time,”)

To make sure sites load properly, check each site’s FAQ or Parent page for system requirements. You’ll generally need Flash and Shockwave plug-ins and a Java-compatible browser to run games; printing out activities or coloring pages typically requires Adobe Reader.

Here are some sites worth checking out. None require children to register or provide any personal information.

FunBrain.com: This site lets you search games by grade level (K through 8). Kids can play word-related games like Grammar Gorilla or Spellaroo, numbers games like Math Baseball or Fresh Baked Fractions, or just plain fun games like Connect the Dots or Piano Player.

FunSchool: This site boasts lots of printables, including Sudoku puzzles, word searches, coloring pages, and activities themed to everything from Egypt to Halloween to soccer. You can find games by grade (preschool to 6th grade). Or go to the “All Games” tab to find games sorted by topic such as math, language, science, geography, history, sports, art and music.

The Kidz Page: This site includes online jigsaw puzzles, holiday activities, clip art for kids, educational and non-educational online games, and printables such as Sudoku games and coloring sheets. Kids can play with online toys, such as dolls they dress in different outfits.

KidSites.com: This site’s list of online game sites features dozens of sites for all ages, as well as a shorter list of sites with games for younger kids. With games like Asteroids, the emphasis is on fun rather than educational play.

PlayKidsGames.com offers games for preschool through middle school children. The focus is on education at this site, with a variety of games that teach reading, math, vocabulary, spelling and problem-solving. There’s even a typing speed test to help your children bone up on this invaluable skill.

Yahoo! Kids’ game section: More than the other sites here, this one tempts kids with ads and promos for games they’ll pester you to buy (such as Wii or Playstation games based on current movies). Still, you’ll find lots of free games here, including arcade games, card games like Go Fish!, board games like chess, sports games and word games. The focus is fun rather than education.