This news goes out to all the parents - if your kid is seen playing a casual game, don't worry, because perhaps you'll find them growing closer to you due to them. A stretch? Maybe, but then again, there just might be some actual science behind the whole ordeal. So is there really a bunch of good to be had from people playing casual games?

From the article:

7,500 adults around the world were polled by Popcap regarding casual gaming habits in their household. An astounding 92% of parents and grandparents responding said that casual games helped them bond with their children and grandchildren. These respondents also cited various aspects that they found to be benefits of playing casual games, including 68% pointing to the obvious hand-eye coordination, 60% who said general learning (including pattern recognition and spelling). Other popular choices for benefits of casual gaming included mental exercise (51%), memory strengthening (48%), and stress relief (44%).

Of the 7,500 interviewed, just under 2,300 said that children in their household play casual games, and 66% said they would like to see casual games in their children or grandchildren's schools. Almost 90% stated that their children treat casual games as at least partly cooperative, leading to psychologist and author Dr. Carl Arinoldo to remark that, "Casual games seem to promote more of a cooperative 'let's work on this together' type of atmosphere, as opposed to an aggressive, interpersonal competitive environment."

Read the full article over at 1up.com