The British Esports Association is a not-for-profit national body established to promote esports in the UK, increase its level of awareness, improve standards and inspire future talent. However, when a child rises to the top of their age group in competitive video games we are often blind to their talent and opportunities. When a young child shines at activities like chess, playing the guitar, maths, tennis, football or public speaking parents and carers are used to recognising talent and helping them develop. As well as finding the right games to get them started, it's also important that you play with them and keep game screens in shared family spaces so you can see what they are doing. You can use Family Settings and Parental Controls on your system to limit how your child interacts with other players online. Then there are cooperative games like Ibb and Obb where you work together and communicate with gestures on the screen. Other games, like Sky, are designed to lead players into cooperating with each other with in-game purchases you give away, and interactions that start limited and expand as you gain experience. Some games, like Roblox are designed for young players with lots of special safety settings. The games in this list offer small steps to go from local play to online play. This works with Breck Foundation's, ‘Play virtual, Live real’ motto that reminds children to never meet up alone in a private place with someone they have met only online, to ensure that online play is safe, enjoyable and connected to attentive adults. This establishes an open conversation where your child is more likely to tell you if something happens online that doesn't feel right, and more likely to listen to your ongoing advice and guidance. By playing online with your child from an early age you create a context where mistakes are made together. The foundation aims to ensure that no child is harmed through grooming and exploitation while enjoying their time on the internet.Īfter speaking with Lorin on BBC Radio, together, we hatched an idea to offer this resource to help anchor online gaming as a part of family life. Breck was groomed while enjoying his passions of computing and gaming. The Breck Foundation is a charity founded by Lorin LaFave after the tragic murder of her 14-year old son, Breck Bednar, in 2014, through online grooming. We've worked with the Breck Foundation to create this list of games that are great for parents, carers and children to take first steps online together.

With the benefits and opportunities of online play come the issues and potential dangers of children interacting with people they don't know. It's a big step from playing something like Mario Kart with family and friends in the same room to going online to play with people you don't know. One of the most exciting aspects of modern video games is playing with other people online.

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