Video games are becoming increasingly popular among kids these days. On average, kids spend over an hour a day playing video games. While it may be perceived as an innocent form of entertainment, research says video games can have social, mental, and developmental repercussions for kids.
Should Parents Be Afraid Of Video Games?
The internet is riddled with all sorts of theories about video games; from breeding violent behaviors to causing mental issues like ADHD, video games are often deemed complicit. This has led to an irrational fear of video games among the parent community, causing some parents to completely forbid their kids from playing them.
In truth, the negative effects of video games largely depend on their duration and the kind of game played. Like everything else, the excess of video game consumption isn’t good. Similarly, games that perpetuate violence may be discouraged as well. But overall, video games aren’t sinister black holes you need to protect your kids from.
The Good and Bad Effects of Video Games
As evil as video games are thought to be, you’d be surprised to know they aren’t all that bad. Video games can have positive effects on your kids, such as:
- Enhances Problem-Solving Skills: Video games require a certain level of logic and problem-solving. This helps your child polish the skill and apply it more efficiently.
- Improves Functionality Under Pressure: A lot of games are time-sensitive, forcing your child to use their swift analytics and quick thinking skills. These help them tackle situations under pressure.
- Provides An Emotional Outlet: Video games help them navigate their emotions and provide them with a good distraction.
Some bad effects of video games include:
- Normalizing Violence: Many popular video games have violence, which may normalize the concept for kids.
- May Cause Social Problems: Excessive gaming can cause your child to withdraw socially and perform poorly in school
- Behavioral Problems: Children may become aggressive and violent with increasing gaming.
How Can Parents Limit and Control Gaming?
Forbidding your child from playing video games is not an effective solution. It will just force them to do it sneakily or act out if they can’t. Instead, try talking to them about the negative effects of video games and how they can negatively affect them if they’re not careful. You can also monitor their gaming activities by allowing gaming only under supervision or when you can play with them.
If that feels too restrictive, you can install a monitoring app on their device so you can keep track of their gaming more remotely. There are a lot of options, such as Eyezy, Spyera App. mSpy is the best app for this purpose since it allows you to remotely control your child’s screen time, review their activities, and restrict the kind of games they’re playing. You can also choose to access the ambient listening and live camera features to watch out for any suspicious activities. The app is discreet, so your kid won’t notice it.
Conclusion
While video gaming can help your child develop and use important skills, it can also cause behavioral problems. As parents, the best you can do is try to limit their consumption and monitor the kinds of games they’re playing with the help of monitoring apps such as mSpy. This way, they can still enjoy the activity without worrying about what it entails.