Whether it's personal safety or financial, have peace of mind with these 6 free games for your kids. Shift some of that unstructured screen time to simulation-style games that teach money sense, budgeting and how to be safe online.
Improve Online Safety With 6 Free Online Games For Kids and Teens
Free kids games that teach kids real-life skills?? Sign me up.
1. Google's Interland
Age Recommendation: 7-12
Topic: Internet Safety
Interland is part of Google's Be Internet Awesome Program, which teaches youth the fundamentals of digital citizenship and provides parents and educators with resources to help youth navigate the web and their online interactions.
At the end of each island within the free online game, players get a certificate for being an internet strong 'Internaut.' How cool is that? Wait, it's not cool to say cool anymore...Don't tell your kids we said that.
2. Banzai Junior
Age Recommendation: 6+
Topic: Running a lemonade stand business to learn about income and expenses.
Players are given startup money and they have to buy supplies and change the price of their lemonade in order to try and make a profit to pay for things they want. This free online game is 💯.
3. Banzai Teen
Age Recommendation: 12-18
Topic: Using part-time job funds to pay for expenses and save up for a goal.
The first foray into independence can happen without you having to put your teen behind the wheel of a real car. 😅 This free online game simulates part-time income and encourages saving for a specific goal. An example of one of the lessons in this game is when they're given the choice between buying a new or used car, and then they see the impact the monthly payment has on their available funds.
4. Banzai Plus
Age Recommendation: 13-20+
Topic: Navigating financial decisions in the real world
This course is the real deal. Participants will have a full-time job, and have to pay for everything from rent and groceries to insurance and pop-up emergencies like an appendectomy. 😅 They're also trying to save up for a house down payment. It's a free online game that's realistically challenging for advanced middle-schoolers, high-school students and definitely some adults as well.
5. Banzai Internet Safety
Age Recommendation: Whatever age your kid is independently navigating online
Topic: Online and financial safety
In this free online game, you simulate signing up for a social media platform called Cybr, and you make decisions about your behavior online for 14 'days' (course takes 1-2 hours). This is a very detailed and super fun game about real-life decisions we make online every day and their consequences.
6. Banzai College and Careers
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Age Recommendation: 16+
Topic: Career paths, college costs and ways to make it in the real world.
Use this course to teach students how to lower the cost of college expenses and plan for their future career path. Banzai College & Careers courses help students prepare for the reality of transitioning to college life with courses like the Cost of College, Paying for College and Choosing a Career just to name a few. Kids, they grow up so fast!
Conclusion
Hopefully you've found these free online games helpful in keeping our kids safe from phishing, extortion, financial fraud, and all the other scaries out there. We're all about financial empowerment here at Copper State Credit Union, and these courses don't miss the mark.
If you're ready to give your kid even more responsibility, consider our youth accounts! Check out our branch locations or just open an account online.
If your kids would like to further their knowledge on financial responsibility, our article on one of the highest trending money scams in 2023- Top Money Scam: Card cracking is a great place to start.
Have you or a loved one recently become victim to identity theft, whether online or otherwise? Check out our exclusive Identity Theft Protection Checklist to help you restore your financial security and identity.
Sources:
https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/
https://copperstatecu.teachbanzai.com/course/1620248/home#/
This article is intended to be a general resource only and is not intended to be nor does it constitute legal advice. Any recommendations are based on opinion only.
