At what age, should your kid start playing video games is a question that all parents ask themselves at some time?
Is my child too young to play video games? What games should he be playing? How long should he be playing games? If I let my kid play the video game, will he become an addict?
These are valid questions that most parents often don’t have any answers to.
With the advent of technology, the Internet and television, it is very difficult for young kids to remain unimpressed by the gaming consoles.
Eventually, they will demand that you get them a
Heck, even I have one.
All right, let’s come back to the main question, Are video games good or bad?
There are both negatives and negatives and I am no expert. But let’s analyse.
Let’s take a look at the positives first:
- Video games help develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination in the kids.
- Video games help stimulate concentration.
- Depending on the game you choose, video games can be very useful as teaching aids.
- Children can learn both concepts and values with some games.
- Video games can have therapeutic applications for people with physical disabilities people affected by anorexia, among others.
Now let us consider the negatives of the video games, The main problems are:
- Video Games do not encourage physical activity. The child may become sedentary, with time this can lead to apathy, obesity, etc.
- Violent video games can, in some cases, generate aggression in the child. Older children or teenagers may want to emulate the aggressive or criminal behaviour of some characters in the game.
- Excessive video games play can make a child isolated from their surroundings and significantly impair socialization abilities.
- Video games can generate anxiety and other negative emotions in children.
I think video games are a good source of entertainment for the kids and the family if used in moderation.
Parents need to find a balance where the kids have a console but do not spend too much time on it.
Also, the choice of games that the kid plays needs to be kept an eye on. Gory, violent games should be avoided especially for the younger lot.
Read our blog post on Hobbies to Replace Video Games to know how to get your kids away from the console.
I leave it to you to make your own opinions. Do let me know in the comments below what you think about the topic and what your experiences have been.