Video games and your children: A Review

A review of video games and your children - How parents maintain control by Hilarie Cash, PhD and Kim McDaniel, MA

How many parents are worried about my children not to spend too much time on the screen. If this screen is television, computer or video games matters little. One reason for this is because I have seen how screen time interferes with other more important tasks. Activities such as reading, spending time with family, helping at home, even daydreaming.

It seems that boys in particular, have difficulty accepting limits around video games and time on the computer. Since I have two children, I did not want a part of the fight in progress on the video game system between themselves and refusing to accept boundaries and limits that I see in other families. I've also seen many children lack of sleep and even social interaction with peers because of spending too much in an artificial world, with negative effects in the short and long term.

Video games and your child brings a great deal of ongoing research, science and data on why parents should be concerned about their children spending too much time playing video
(and computer) games. Rather than being the greatest invention after the wipe, video games are not always fun and just harmless.

On the one hand, video games are extremely addictive. In fact, they are designed to be - the marketing factor called "sticky". The more the child plays, the better in their estimation. Another reason addictive because of fast moving images on screen and how to stimulate the brain. It seems an advantage, but it is not. It leads to children who have difficulty with other types of learning - the kind that comes from listening and discussing and solving problems that require more time.

Secondly, video games have negative effects on the body and brain - video games not only contribute to a sedentary lifestyle (which may contribute to childhood obesity) but also retrain the brain and how it thinks. This has deleterious effects on how children learn and their ability to learn outside the game.

Sometimes parents believe that video games and computers are "educational", but the evidence does not support that assessment. In fact, some studies show the opposite effect and have shown a correlation between computer games and decreased vocabulary.

Video games can also lead to reduced attention and the ability to respond appropriately in social situations. Video games can also lead to eye problems and vision, headaches, sleep disorders and carpal tunnel syndrome. Children who spend a lot of playing time, even develop poor posture and shallow breathing.

Interestingly, the authors are not totally opposed to video games, but to remind parents to be very careful about their use. This book is useful as a parent who gives us the research to support this intuition that we have. Allowing a child to have unlimited access to video games is a bad thing. It also provides some expert advice on how to identify addiction of video games and how to get help for your child - and yourself or a spouse, where are those who have a problem.