- Cooperative Games reduce aggression in young children. See the study “Cooperative Games in Young Children: A Way to Modify Aggression” by April Bay Hinitz et al; 1994; University of Nevada, Reno.
- Cooperative Games increase pro-social skills including sharing and kindness. See studies by Terry Orlick and others.
- Though cooperative games have not been studied extensively, as they are not widely known about, they are both a form of cooperative learning and of course a form of play. There’s an enormous amount of scholarship and research documenting the benefits of both cooperative learning (see for example the brothers Johnson at the University of Minnesota) and the benefits of play (see for example the work of Peter Gray or Stuart Brown.) Benefits of cooperative learning include increased mastery of content and reduced classroom management and discipline problems while play is known to be essential for mental health and intellectual development. Cooperative play has all of the benefits of cooperative learning as well as play, since it is a form of both!
- Cooperative games have been shown to be useful in therapy situations to enhance communication skills of autistic and socially withdrawn children.
- Cooperative games are inclusive so they promote a “sense of belonging”. The importance of a sense of belonging in academic achievement has been documented by Jeffrey Cohen at Stanford and others.
- Cooperative games are fun as documented by Terry Orlick and others. Fun and happiness are beginning to be appreciated as important in their own right on humanitarian grounds. Consider for example the UN declaration on the right of children to play. Also positive psychology is beginning to document the value of happiness in human health.
- Cooperative games build empathy because the underlying ethic is mutual care and concern as opposed to the dog-eat-dog, “nice guys finish last” ethos that characterizes hypercompetitive society.
- Cooperative games help develop problem-solving skills.
- Cooperative play gives children practice working together which prepares them for cooperative learning and collaborative learning teaching strategies.
- Cooperative games provide a break from excess competition. (As documented in No Contest, The Case Against Competition, competition has many downsides including that it increases anxiety in children and reduces equity. Yet most schooling is competitively structured. For this reason it is important to give children a break from the destructive effects of excess competition.)
- Cooperative games can promote group cohesion and group identity.
- They are inclusive so no one wastes valuable class time sitting idly on the sidelines.
- Many cooperative games are physically active games so they help children stay physically fit.
- They allow kids practice taking turns and being courteous, which is a valuable life skill.
- They prepare kids for working life where team-playing is the norm.
- They prevent emotional meltdowns/embarrassment/meanness that commonly occur in competitive situations.
- Cooperative games build healthy relationships because they allow children to interact respectfully with one another and enjoy one another’s company.
- When adults give children cooperative play opportunities, they communicate to children that cooperation is a valued social norm. Thus cooperative games help build a positive social climate, which feels safe and enjoyable for children.
- Cooperative games open the heart because they activate mutual appreciation, and feelings of love and kindness. Thus they are a form of holistic learning (which can be summarized as learning that involves hand, heart, and mind.)
- Because children learn through play, children learn to cooperate through cooperative play. Cooperation is an essential social and emotional skill with a thousand benefits including that it is necessary for social relationships, success in the workplace, and for peaceful living in the larger society.
- Cooperative games teach kindness and fairness and demonstrate the increased productivity that comes from working with one’s fellow humans. Thus they model the kind of social interaction that is needed in the 21st century global community with its many intertwined social and environmental challenges. Thus, playing cooperative games help children become the kinds of citizens who can create and enjoy a sustainable and equitable society. In other words, cooperative games help build a better world, and this is their ultimate benefit for everyone—children and grown-ups alike.
