If you have children, you might wonder how much time should they spend playing video games. While its fine for one hour a day during the week, and two to three hours at weekends, your child needs time to complete homework and other activities before playing video games. For example, if your child has a project at school, they shouldnt play video games all day, but they should get dressed and brush their teeth before gaming.
Guidelines for letting a teen play online games
If youre a parent whos just letting their child play online games, you may be wondering how to protect them from inappropriate content. First, make sure the games theyre playing are appropriate for the ages theyre listed for. Be aware that some games contain violent or sexual images. To prevent this, make sure the parental controls are active, and always check the games age ratings.
Another important rule when letting your child play online games is to enforce rules that limit communication. The Golden Rule should apply to online games too, so teaching your child to avoid chatting with strangers is essential. Teach your child about reporting, blocking, and muting players. These tips will go a long way in making sure your child stays safe and protected online.
You should also make sure your child understands the importance of privacy settings.
Effects of prolonged gaming on conduct problems, peer conflicts, and social abilities
This study found that prolonged gaming has adverse effects on childrens psychosocial functioning. Using an interview session with trained experimenters, Przybylski and Mishkin studied the effects of gaming on childrens personality, social abilities, and peer conflicts. Data were collected one year apart. During this time period, childrens strengths and weaknesses were analyzed by six different models. Two models focused on violent gaming, while the other examined changes in prosocial behavior.
Although few studies have examined the positive effects of gaming, the evidence on the harmful effects of gaming is mounting. A recent meta-analysis of the effects of video gaming on children found that prolonged exposure to violent media was linked with increased incidents of recent violent behavior. This relationship was even stronger when the exposure to violent media was interactive. It also found that violent video game participation was associated with higher levels of peer conflict and behavior.
Effects of prolonged gaming on sleep
Although there is a considerable body of research on the effects of prolonged gaming on sleep, most studies are geared towards teenagers and children. However, it has been shown that gaming can also have negative effects on adult sleep. This is particularly true of those who are more likely to pull an all-nighter than others. Interestingly, this association is even more apparent when it comes to video game players. While it is clear that prolonged gaming can affect the amount of sleep you get, its detrimental effects on your health are often more serious.
This systematic review focused on studies that assessed problematic gaming and sleep outcomes in children and adolescents. The data were extracted using a standard coding schema. Among other things, it included information about the authors, manuscript type, year of publication, study setting, ethical approval, sample, and sleep parameter. The results were then analyzed to assess their association with sleep-related outcomes. As the literature is so fragmented, future research is needed to gather more data and build a more comprehensive picture of the relationship between gaming and sleep.
Effects of prolonged gaming on family and peer relationships
Teens who spend hours playing video games can face a number of negative consequences, including sleep deprivation, disruption of family and peer relationships, and negative impact on school performance. For these reasons, parents should monitor their childrens video game use and set strict limits on the amount of time they can spend on screens. However, even if parents dont set strict rules on screen time, they can still monitor gaming habits closely.
One study found that children from single-parent families were more likely to engage in problem gaming, perhaps because they have fewer alternatives to spend their time. Parental supervision and paternal devotion were negatively associated with problematic video game use. Further, children who were bullied were more likely to engage in problematic gaming. The authors found a strong association between problem gaming and deterioration of family relationships. In addition, the authors found a significant negative relationship between problematic gaming and parent-child attachment, and that gaming was negatively associated with perceived family disharmony, including the quality of the parent-child relationship, the extent of parental care, and the degree of obedience and parental affection in the home.
