Together with experts, we will figure out what benefits of games for children’s development have been identified over this time and how to protect them from the harm that still exists.
Why Video Games Are Dangerous for Children’s Development
Developmental psychologist Daria Zakharova identifies the following factors of the negative impact of games on immature minds:
– Active stimulation of visual and auditory activity , which excludes other channels of perception, thereby disrupting the sensory balance of the growing organism.
– Slow development of the frontal lobes, which are responsible for behavior, emotional self-regulation, and involvement in the feelings of other people.
The violence of some games can encourage overly aggressive behavior in a child.
– Stimulation of certain pleasure centers in the brain. Bright pictures, interesting plots that have already been invented for the child, leave no room for the development of imagination.
When addiction occurs, the child may become absent-minded and irritable, he will most likely have difficulties in communicating with loved ones, problems with the sleep schedule (after all, at night he will play, perhaps secretly from his parents). If you notice something like this in behavior, you should be concerned about it. Most likely, the child needs your help, and perhaps the help of a specialist.
How Video Games Can Benefit You
According to the psychologist, the positive aspects of gaming for children include:
– Development of reaction and speed of decision-making . Many games are aimed at acting quickly.
– The ability to replay levels, which gives the child the necessary feeling that many things can be solved, and reduces the fear of making a mistake in real life.
– Stimulation of the desire to learn new things and the desire to move forward, to achieve your goal.
– Developing team communication skills and quick dispute resolution for team winning – in case of online games.
– A safe space for releasing aggression, reducing the risk for teenagers to take out negative emotions on loved ones.
Clinical and sports psychologist Vladimir Dernov also believes that it is not so difficult to find advantages in children’s passion for video games. Some of them are quite obvious. For example, strategies help to learn long-term planning and maintain focus on many aspects of what is happening at once. Some games help to look for non-standard answers and think creatively, step by step to make efforts to achieve the goal. And anti-stress games, in which you need to collect and burst different balls and bubbles, really relax quite well.
Should children be prohibited from playing?
Are the listed possible advantages of games worth all the dangers they carry, or is it better to ban this controversial activity? Experts say that you won’t have to pay a high price in the form of addiction and other “bonuses” if you maintain a balance. For starters, in terms of the time allotted to games.
ars – up to 60 minutes a day with breaks;
– 5-7 years old – 60 minutes a day with breaks;
– 7-9 years old – 90 minutes a day with breaks;
– 9-11 years old – 120 minutes per day with breaks;
– 12-14 years old – 180 minutes per day with breaks;
– 14-15 years old – 200 minutes a day with breaks.
In addition to this, experts unanimously remind us of the need to check a child’s games for age-appropriateness.
The atmosphere in the family is no less important. It has long been known that the main “channel” through which a child gains knowledge about life is not the oral teachings of parents, but their living example. It is more difficult to deceive a child than it seems: saying one thing and doing the opposite does not work.
Of course, whether or not to limit the time spent on the computer is the decision of each individual parent. But you shouldn’t make hasty decisions without fully understanding the situation. Often, we are deliberately hostile to what we don’t know and don’t understand. Instead of making rash decisions, try to get closer to your child, understand him and immerse yourself in his interests. Then you will be able to make a more balanced and justified decision.