Cambridge company uses video games to teach kids how to handle stressful situations
There are more than 2.5 billion video gamers in the world but not all screens are created equal. A Cambridge company is showing families video games can be used for good, teaching children to manage big emotions.
Eight-year old Caleb Howes likes video games as much as any other kid but he's found one that's pretty unique. It's called Mightier.
A video game system developed and tested at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School to teach kids ways to handle stressful situations.
"Nobody wants to be told to calm down," said Craig Lund, the company's chief executive officer and co-founder.
He said the games mimic frustrations that come up in real-life and then teach kids how to process those emotions in a way they can understand.
"Because it's such an authentic way to learn, they then apply it to life," Lund said.
Kids wear a heart rate monitor while playing the game. As they face challenges and their heart rate increases, the screen becomes increasingly red. The child has to use techniques like deep breathing to bring their heart rate down, get into a blue zone and continue playing the game.
"That sounds like a hard thing to put on a kid, but kids take it in stride. All of a sudden, a 10-year old boys start to think about where is my heart rate? How is my body responding to this challenge of working this game and how do I get better at that? So kids discover on their own what their body is telling them and they discover for themselves how to better manage it and control it," Lund said.
The programs have been tested in four clinical trials. The company says after 12 weeks, families reported a 62% reduction in child outbursts and a nearly 20% drop in parental stress.
"I definitely didn't anticipate that within a month or two of stopping the pilot, I would ask for it back," said Sarah Howes, Caleb's mom. He started using Mightier in a pilot program about two years ago.
Howes was skeptical but it's made a big difference in her son.
"If he gets frustrated with his brother or at school, he triggers himself to use breathing. He can become calm and not see everything as a frustrating situation," Howes said.
There is a $40 monthly subscription for Mightier but as the pandemic continued this spring, the company donated 100 kits to kids through several Boston schools. They have access to Mightier for life.