Get Your Child to Stop Playing Video Games
Video games take up a lot of time that children can use much more productively, and the lack of exercise that results from too many video games is not healthy. Take the time to steer your children away from them with more stimulating and interesting activities.
Steps
- Determine how much time you believe is acceptable for your child to play video games. Decide on an acceptable time for each day or for the week. Some parents limit video games to one hour per day, while others completely ban video games during the school week and only allow for a few hours on the weekends. Many health care professionals and development specialists recommend that the time children spend in front of a television or computer screen be no more than 2 hours per day. Take this into account when determining what time limits you want to set and decide on an acceptable amount of video game playing time that works for you.
- Evaluate how much time your child is playing video games each day and see how that coincides with your determined time limit. This will help you better develop an appropriate course of action for limiting video game time. If your limit is one hour per day and your child is currently spending 4 hours after school playing video games, helping him break the habit can be more challenging.
- Try to find alternative activities that complement your child’s personality and his interests. He is more likely to respond to your encouragement to participate in other activities if you give him suggestions for activities that he already has an interest in.
- Give your child a 30-60 minute break of free time when he comes home from school. This will allow him to unwind and release energy that may have pent up during the school day. This time should be spent as free play, not video game time.
- Make sure that your child completes all of his homework and chores after his free playtime is up. Only after all of his other responsibilities have been met should he be allowed to begin his video game time.
- Set the video game system up in a family room, or somewhere that you will be able to supervise your child while he is playing. This makes it easier for you to enforce the rules and for your child to follow them. Placing a game console in a child’s bedroom gives him/her too much freedom to play when unsupervised. Additionally, it can cause too much temptation, especially for a younger child who has difficulty following rules.
- Try to get your child to engage in activities with you.
- See if you can spark his interest to help you make dinner.
- Go for a walk or bike ride together.
- Play a board game or a start a quick game of cards.
- Work on a puzzle or do crosswords together.
- If your child does not like any of these things, do not force him/her to do it, as this will lead to frustration and anger at you.
- Encourage your child to get involved in outdoor activities with other children in the neighborhood. Bike riding, recreational sports, swimming and just playing childhood games outside can help to distract your child from his video game habit.
- Familiarize yourself with the warning signs of video game addiction in children. Some kids develop an actual addiction to playing video games. They can become withdrawn from family and friends. It is important for parents to understand what the signs and symptoms are, so that they can recognize them if they develop in their child.
- Watch for signs that your child is sneaking in extra playing time after the time limit or that he is lying to you about playing when he is not supposed to.
- Observe your child when he is participating in other activities. If he appears to be disinterested in even after repeated exposure, it isn't necessarily because of a video game addiction, they may simply be bored. It is important that you don't jump to conclusions. Normally, children will become distracted very easily, and will quickly forget about their previous activity when they become engaged in a new one.
- A common addiction symptom is for a child to lose interest in an activity that he once enjoyed.
- Evaluate your child’s behavior after he has reached his video game time limit. Watch to see if he becomes irritable, moody or anxious.
- Contact your child’s health care professional if you notice any troublesome symptoms or if you suspect that he may have a video game addiction.
- Give appropriate consequences if your child refuses to stop playing at the designated stop time. Disconnect the video game controller from the game console and take them out of the room.
- Let your child know that he will lose gaming privileges for a specific amount of time if once this occurs.
- Do not give the controller back before the specified amount of time. Consider placing a long term ban on video games if your child continues to disregard the time limit you set for him.
- Help your child figure out how to save the progress he has made in his video game if he complains that he is in the middle of a game when his time is up. Many younger children do not know how to navigate the game features and may need help learning how to save progress. If they save their game and do not feel like all of their efforts have been wasted, they are less likely to give you a hard time about ending their playing session.
Tips
- Do not ban video games entirely, unless the playing gets out of hand. There are some positive aspects to playing video games. Some studies suggest that video games can help children develop good eye hand coordination. Gamers learn how to work as a team and accomplish things together. Gaming also reduces stress, reduces nightmares and some say it can make children sharper.
- Understand that it may take some time for your child to adjust to his new gaming schedule. Children who are accustomed to playing video games for an extended period of time may have a difficult time limiting their game time. Stick to the rules you set and continue to offer encouragement to help your child make the transition.
- During days off, if your child normally plays a lot of video games, take them places at your convenience, such as the mall, the park, museums, stores, or the pool or beach (in summer).
- Make it seem like it is their choice to come off, rather than your choice.
- When telling your son or daughter to get off the games, look them in the eye and say it in a calm and demanding voice. Don't be afraid to ground them or take their gaming privileges away.
Warnings
- Make sure to be fair. Never say "because I said so" as this can cause serious arguments, especially with older kids.
- Always make sure that your child wants to do the activity as forcing them will push them away from you and they may resent you for years to come.
- Always give a reason to a punishment. A reason can give a kid closure and so make them accept the punishment. (This will also help with the warning above)
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