Spending nearly a decade in the Video Games business sort of makes me an expert on the topic. As a dad I have a view that may not be shared by those still in the industry when it comes to amount of time allowed or the effects of gaming on children. Personally I love gaming, have spent many a sleepless night as the master chief or QB, etc. but when it comes to my kids I am pretty protective.
In our house we have all the machines, more games then we know about... but you would never know it by the amount of actual game time.
Game time, like TV time in our house is a privilege, you must EARN IT. Reading time = Game time. But there is also other requirements like outdoor time. It's something that works for our family and our kids. There are upper limits as well, no gaming on a school night, no T or M games in the evening and no T or M for those under 10. And M games are highly restricted. No online play without approval, etc.
We certainly see the impact of action and fighting games on them, not so much long term but they are much more animated and aggressive after a round of any fighting game or car crash. Flushed cheeks, jumpy and a little stressed too. All fine in short amounts but there has to be a limit.
Because we have these rules and we don't really shy away from the rules, the kids do not rely upon video gaming for entertainment. They play ball, ride; bikes, scooters, boards, build Lego's and a ton of other stuff before they even think about playing a game.
We do have a regular family video game night which we all enjoy.
Like so much about parenting it needs to be monitored and done in limited quantity.
It's OK to play... Dad said
No comments:
Post a Comment