In this day and age, every household is familiar with video games dominating the lives of the young and the not-so-young ones. With the rise of the Internet, the kinds of games that kids play have evolved from one-man games to online games that allow them to play against virtually anyone anywhere on the planet.
In and of itself, video games are nothing more than recreation for kids, but when done in excessive amounts of time, they can negatively affect other aspects of your child’s life. This is why as parents, you need to know how to deal with video games that you allow, if you do allow them, into your kids’ daily life.
The Internet has paved the way for virtually limitless possibilities when it comes to video games. For example, there are card games, board games, adventure games, and many more. Role playing games are also extremely popular, and they allow the players to connect to the game and play with the thousands of users that are logged in at any one time. Counterstrike and Ragnarok are among the most popular RPGs, along with Cabal, Special Forces, and War Rock. Even third world countries seem to be well-updated on these games, as the lowest-income child can still play them by simply playing the Internet café computer use rental, which, by now, has sunk so low that it doesn’t cause any dent on a child’s allowance.
How do you know if your child is playing too much video games? After all, when they are played in moderation, they may mean no harm. The following symptoms may tell you if you need to pull the stop sign for your child’s video gaming:
1. Is your child becoming increasingly isolated and having trouble relating with other people? Poor social skills are a tell-tale sign of too much time spent on the computer, as the child spends most of his time with virtual playmates with whom he will obviously need not to deal with directly.
2. Does your child have erratic mood swings? Too much gaming can cause swings in your child’s behavior. There is no clear explanation for this, except perhaps he has gotten too engrossed in his virtual world that he has trouble adapting to the uncertainty of the real world. For example, when things don’t go as he would like, he may be alarmingly furious.
3. Have you caught him lying or stealing? Although these may have causes elsewhere, if your child has become addicted to gaming, he will likely want to do anything just to keep playing, including lying about household chores, stealing in order to buy things related to the game, or other unusual misbehavior.
4. Do you notice a deterioration of his physical health as well as regular sleep? Does he seem disinterested in hygiene? This can come about as he begins to obsess about the time he spends playing his games. Perhaps you may notice him rushing to school regularly without having taken a shower, or he seems unusually groggy on a regular basis.
5. Does he increasingly neglect his responsibilities, from home, to school, or for older kids, work? An increasing disinterest in chores that he may have been consistent with previously may signal a preoccupation somewhere else, and most likely, the culprit could be his gaming.
If your child shows any of these signs, it may be time to set your foot down as the parent. Perhaps you can work on an agreement with your child about the number of hours he can spend on the computer. For older kids, this may be a bit difficult, but perhaps you can start by bringing the computer out of his room into the living room where you can keep closer tabs on him. Alternatively, you can give him his freedom but just set periods of no-playing-time throughout the day, such as dinnertime and after a certain bed time. Remember, your child may resent you for it at first, but in the long run it will be for his own good. After all, you would not want him to shut himself off from the rest of the family and other friends, would you?
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