Junior Brain Trainer: a video game without parental guilt?

If you're a parent like me, you've probably got a list of games to buy your kid this holiday season. And if said kid is under the age of 11, you've probably spent some time online or in Best Buy trying to determine which Lego or Mario or Potter or whatever game on his list might actually be age appropriate and entertaining. You read reviews. Talk to other parents. Check the the ESRB ratings. All good, but -- even with an "E" rating, it's still a video game, right? Pangs of parental guilt. Don't get me wrong, I was a child of the Atari and Nintendo generation and video games have a special place in my heart. But there's still a part of me that thinks -- is really this good for my child?

Enter Junior Brain Trainer and Junior Classic Games from Virtual Play games.

Junior Brain Trainer contains over 100 mind-boggling puzzles, games and activities designed to improve memory, spelling, reading, logic and problem-solving skills (the genre was made famous with the massive popularity of Nintendo's Dr.Kawashima's Brain Training). Here's the gist: kids complete five activities each day to unlock new games, stories, quizzes and puzzles. With adjustable difficulty levels for ages 5 through 11, Junior Brain Trainer helps support kids' classroom studies and build confidence. And it does so without being a boring educational game.

Video game fun without parental guilt? Otterhop says an enthusiastic "yes."

We received review copies of both titles and immediately turned them over to our ten year old son, who enthusiastically dove in. The Junior Brain Trainer was the immediate favorite. I was surprised how quickly the Wii was left to gather dust, and soon my son was wondering aloud: "how do you spell kangaroo?" and "is a baby horse called a foal?" Awesome.

"Brain training games have been enormously popular on DS," said Len Ciciretto, co-founder of Maximum Family Games. "But none of the current brain training-style games are aimed at kids and tweens - the primary users of the DS. Junior Brain Trainer has been developed specifically for children. Junior Classic Games continues to build skills while keeping kids entertained."

Whether it's for your own child, or a gift for someone else's, the "Junior" game series is a guilt-free way for parents to help their kids enjoy video games, or at least give them a break from the usual fare.

Like all things -- in moderation, of course.

Happy gaming!