I’d really like to thank Activision for hosting the last “Games for Girls Summit'” in Texas, and inviting me!
The summit was hosted at the beautiful W hotel in Dallas, and bloggers were able to hear from mom, and Tech expert Suzanne Kantra. Suzanne shared what gift givers of tech games will want to know this season, as well as some really fun facts about the positive benefits of girls gaming!
We also got a chance to get a sneak peak at some of the games that Activision has just released this holiday season that had girls in mind when they were developed.
Despite having been lucky enough to go to several events for bloggers in the past- I have to say this one really set the bar for me. So many bloggers are parents, and this event was about games for kids- and they provided childcare for kids to attend the event WITH their blogger parent! WOW. Being able to see my lil pumpkin actually interact with the products really made the experience so much more relevant for me.
Wanna see some pics?
-This is my three year old daughter. Born sadly to a non gaming mom! So I really needed the info at this summit;)
One great thing I learned was BYU’s School of Family life did a study in 2011 that showed that girls who play video games:
- behave better
- feel more connected to their families
- have stronger mental health
FOR REAL!! I would not have thought that! But the games we got to preview, all had elements of caring for other characters in the game, nurturing and other really positive qualities. SO I can see how that could be the case.
The W Hotel provided a great spread for us all to get coffee, some refreshments and really focus on the speakers. Along with Suzanne Kantra from @Techlicious, we heard from Nicole Armstrong from Activision, and we werre hosted by the awesome Holly Homer of She is Dallas.
I loved how all the speakers were moms themselves, and felt so comfortable talking over the din of kids happily playing in the background! They also shared with us that a study was done on the cognitive nueroscience of gaming and it found that video game players had
- Faster reaction times
- Increased hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity
- Increased spatial skills
This is awesome Amanda from Activision, who spent a bunch of time teaching my daughter how to use the DS to make Wappy dog bark and sing and play with her. She was in love! And literally played with Wappy the whole summit! Guess who is going to be getting a DS for Christmas this year? 🙂
I had a great time at the summit, and I learned a lot about a topic (video games) that I realize in retrospect I had a real bias against. My view of playing video games was solitary and lonely- and I really learned that it can be a truly social, fun interactive experience. So that was cool.
This is the amazing Gift bags bloggers were given- including New DS games DS lalaloopsy, Squinkies, Zoobles, Moshi Monsters, Zhu Zhu Babies and WAPPY DOG! My daughter could not have been more excited!
PS. Activision generously provided me with another gift bag for one MilkandCuddles.com Reader!
So watch this blog… and our facebook page because next week we are giving everything you see below away…just in time for Christmas!!
About Shannon SchmidShannon traded in her sensible NYC TV producer shoes (they were best for taking the subway), for a pair of Texas Cowboy boots when she married her best friend! He's at fault for making this Yankee a Texan! Shannon writes about all things that make a house a home. Her chief blogging inspiration is being the proud & slightly neurotic mom of a preschool age daughter.
You can find Shannon on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and her new favorite place to hang out, Google+.
This sounds like a great event. The gift bag is amazing!
If she ever needs a buddy to play video games with, I can suggest a LARGE amount of them here in NY 🙂 I am married to one, and related to three!! 🙂
That is so cool! What a great thing to do and a great way to inspire fun.
She is getting SO BIG!
Wow! What a great opportunity. It looks like you all had a blast. Blogging can be so much fun!
That’s wild! I’ve always felt guilty for giving my three-year-old games to play while I get dressed every morning, but maybe it’s not so bad after all!
Looks like a fun conference!