Previous Story
How To Help Your Kid Stymie Video Game Addiction
Video Game addiction is a problem for parents hoping to foster the most productive lifestyle for their children. Parents must break the unhealthy addiction by introducing productive alternatives.
With the rise of video gaming entertainment, parents are now starting to realize that despite any perceived benefits of entertainment technology, there are also obvious pitfalls. No other pitfall is perhaps more worrisome for parents than a child’s struggle with video game addiction. Video game addiction stymies a healthy, productive lifestyle for a child, and studies show that students who are addicted have lower grades than their peers who aren’t. Parents who suspect their child is suffering from addiction to video gaming should break that attachment by introducing productive alternatives.
Other Productive Activities
One method that parents may try with their child is to simply introduce more productive activities that a child can get into. If a child loves playing shooter games, maybe invest in super soaker toys to entice outdoor exercise. Or perhaps a switch from video games to board games for a family game night would be a fitting alternative. The point is to get the child to do something else that can be just as entertaining as video games, but is a more productive activity.
Time Constraints
Video game addiction keeps kids occupied for periods beyond healthy levels. It is then appropriate to limit a child’s exposure to video games, but without having to completely eliminate them. This can take the form of a strict two-hour game session or a specific time of the day to play and get off. This option is much more agreeable to kids who love their entertainment and for parents wanting to limit their child’s attachment without much headache. A child with an addiction problem with gaming would be more willing to accept gradual limitations on the amount of time spent actually playing.
Introduce Reward System
A child who is addicted to video games is addicted because the need for some sort of gratification wants to be satisfied. This gratification can come from simply the need for entertainment, or also for a need to feel in control over circumstances. Regardless of the precise reasons, kids feel drawn to this gratification. Therefore, a method that encourages gratification in more productive areas of life would be fitting and proper. An example would be a parent encouraging their child to abide by their time restrictions for their gaming and rewarding him or her with a visit to their favorite restaurant or park. Rewarding a child this way allows him or her to feel in control over their circumstances the same way a video game might, but at the same time is encouraging him or her to abide by their parent’s regulations. This can help create the necessary gratification needed to break an unhealthy focus on video gaming.
In conclusion, parents now live in an age where the production of popular video games costs as much as a blockbuster movie. The growing industry of video and MMO game entertainment together with the proliferation of gaming sites to promote it mean gaming is more popular than ever, and are here to stay. This creates an intense need for parents to understand how to best negate the increasing need for children to entertain themselves through excessive video gaming. These suggested methods could be attempted systematically or combined all together. But remember, the best and only true way is to introduce more healthy habits to kids, so that they may begin to live more healthy lifestyles that are free from addiction to video games.
Video game entertainment has been featured prominently throughout Frank Lewis’ life. Working as an author and gamer, he understands the possible benefits and issues of gaming technology in everyday life.
