Can A Video Game Teach Empathy?

| By: Committee for Children

Can kids learn empathy on an iPad? This is the somewhat unfair but inevitable question surrounding this week's release of a new tablet game called IF. Designed for 6 to 12 year olds, IF aims to help kids manage their emotions, cope with stress and conflict, even deal with bullies. It comes with big expectations because it's made by a new company, If You Can, started by Trip Hawkins, a gaming giant who is also the founder of Electronic Arts, the makers of Madden NFL and other sports games loved by my children and probably yours (and maybe by you too).

This article first appeared on Slate.com on February 28, 2014.