Your nine year old tells you he's heard that Halo is the 'best game ever' and wants to buy it. You find out that it's rated R (Restricted) and has gory content. What do you do? Or your 16 year old has spent 6 hours on the computer, MSN, iPod, and her DSi, simultaneously, and gets mad when you ask her to shut them down. How do you handle this situation?
The quality of the graphics, sound, and interactive play of video games these days has kids and teens really excited and eager to play them. As with anything, there are positives and negatives to gaming. According to pediatricians and other experts some of the benefits of gaming are as follows: gaming can increase a child's reflexes, improve hand-eye coordination, and may sometimes boost logical thinking ability and strengthen problem-solving skills, particularly in educational games and games where kids are required to design a city or make a plan. Educational games in particular can also improve competence in reading, spelling and math, and may also increase alertness. Frequent gamers often score better on vision tests.
That's the good part. The downside is more concerning. On a physical level, gaming causes eye strain, wrist and back pain, and headaches. We've probably all heard of the 11 yr. old who developed tendonitis, a repetitive motion strain injury (more common in us older folk) in his wrist from playing video games. Emotionally, the more kids game, the less social contact they have. Even if your child is gaming with friends, they aren't focusing on each other. Every kid needs to spend time with friends - talking, playing, creating - in order to develop normally. Kids who spend more than 4 hours a day gaming often become more introverted, aren't as keen to hang out with friends away from gaming, and don't develop important social skills they need to function in life.
So what can we do about this issue as parents? One of the most important things you can do for your child is to be involved. Watch the games your kids are playing and maybe even play them as well, so you know not only the content of the games but also the goal of the games. Pay attention to the games your child or teen is interested in buying. All games are rated from E (everyone) to 18+ and M for adults only. Your 8 year old may really want to play Grand Theft Auto, but with a rating of M, it isn't made for him.
The second thing we need to do as parents is set limits with our kids around gaming. This includes the type of games they want and the time they are allowed to play. It's important to let our kids know which games we are ok with and which ones we are not. Our kids need to hear us say "I know that game and the content and I will not let you play it until you are older. Please choose something else." We also need to be aware of what our kids are playing at their friends' houses. If we tell our son that we will not let him buy or play Halo in our home because of the content, he may just head to his buddy's place to play. It is our job to intervene and let the other parent know our wishes or invite his buddies over to our place instead.
As was stated previously, there are many negative things about gaming, and one of the biggest is the amount of time our kids spend playing video games. It is not uncommon to hear of kids playing video games for 4-8 hours at a time. Experts encourage parents to limit our kids screen time. Basically, they can play after responsibilities are completed (homework, chores, etc.) and if there is an agreed time limit. This can range from 30 minutes per day for a 7 year old up to 2 hours per day for a sixteen year old. Pediatricians recommend no more than 3 hours a day.
Another important job for us as parents is to encourage our kids to involve themselves in other activities, both social and individual. Kids need to have balance in their lives for optimal health. I always try and get my kids to find other things to do like hang out with friends, play a sport, read, play a game or spend time with me (just so they remember how to do it). If kids had their choice, some of them would play video games from the moment they come home from school, eating a quick dinner and then continue gaming until bedtime. They might play alone or with friends and would likely play all weekend long. As parents it's important we make ourselves part of that decision!
