Playing computer games has become a popular pastime for adults and children with game design improving constantly to become more realistic and enjoyable however, it is important that parents and carers are aware of the pitfalls that gaming can have and that they make sure the children in their care are protected from online abuse and any other detrimental effects that gaming can have.

Checking the age rating of any games that your children are playing is a good way to monitor what they are playing. The PEGI rating system is based on six age categories and eight content descriptors. The age categories indicate whether an interactive software product is appropriate for children from a certain age and can be used as a guide by parents who may be unfamiliar with a certain game.

Some online games can let children play with friends and strangers from around the world but playing with people online can also be risky. Most games allow parents to disable certain features such as chat between players if they feel this is not safe. It is important to educate your child about keeping safe online by encouraging them to always choose a safe username instead of their real name and not to reveal any personal details about themselves to other players.

Charity events are vital to help them raise money and awareness for a number of great causes. You may often have seen people doing sponsored climbs, fitness challenges or even giving up certain things for a period of time in order to raise sponsorship but did you know that you could use your gaming skills to do it? Many charities are happy for you to run your own fundraising event and what better way to do it than through something you enjoy. Why not get your friends to join you in a 24 hour gaming marathon. Set yourself up a sponsorship page and get sharing, you may be surprised how quickly the money starts coming in. Before you start gaming you could set up a live stream for people to follow if they want to and for you to keep them updated as to how you are doing. You may also want to devise a list of games that you will play throughout the day and night. Some charities will even send you tshirts or caps you can wear when you are doing your gaming event so don’t forget to update your social media posts to help raise awareness for your charity.

Some console games can be expensive – often costing upwards of £60. This is a huge amount of money to pay for something that you may end up not liking very much or completing too quickly. Ideally before you dig in deep to fork out for that new release, you should try and find out a bit more about it. Have a look to see if there is a free trial of the game that you can download. This will often mean you can play a chapter or section of the game to see if you think you will like it.

If you can wait a few weeks until after the game has been released, then you may be able to find plenty of reviews left by other avid gamers. This will give you a good insight into what the game is like to play and whether it is really worth the money.

If you cannot find a demo to download, then you may be able to find a video online that shows you actual game play. Often when the official trailers are released, they don’t show you much game play but by watching someone else actually play part of the game you can see exactly what it will be like.  

If you have a changes consoles such as an Xbox or PlayStation then you may well sign up to allow you to play online. Both consoles allow you to pay a monthly or annual subscription which gives you access to play online against other players. It often costs around £50 for the year but you can sometimes get it on special offer which brings it down to around £35. If you choose to pay monthly instead of annually then you will end up paying quite a bit more.

Not everyone realises that often with these subscriptions you also get other perks. This may include beta versions of games that you can download, special offer prices and even free games. The PlayStation Plus package for example allows to you download about three new games a month that they have put on offer. Each month there will be different game and you can pick and choose which one’s you want to download. Once downloaded you then own the game so even if they put the pride back up you will still have access to it through your online account and can download it to any devices that you are signed in on.

Children all over the world are filling up their Christmas lists with toys, gifts and games that they have had their eye on all year round. Every year there seems to be a certain toy or game that proves to be so popular that everyone wants to get their hands on it.

Games consoles are a popular Christmas present but the new ones such as the PS5 can be in excess of £500 often meaning that they are a shared present with other siblings. You may decide to get your children separate games that they can play on the consoles but if there is one you have your heart set on be sure to be quick about getting it before it runs out. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to get hold of a copy of a game that was previously in stock but has suddenly become in high demand.

You may struggle to get it from high street stores or online retailers but you can still scourer Facebook market places and Gumtree / Ebay to see if they have copies. Keep going back and checking stock as shops are often having deliveries every day of new items.