Video gaming addiction in children is the compulsive attraction that children develop to sitting the front of the screen and playing games. It can be very dangerous and detrimental to a child’s physical, mental, and social life.
Children who suffer from this form of addiction have problems learning in school, making friends, and engaging in social activities.
Gaming addiction is also known as internet gaming disorder or simply gaming disorder. Many do not believe that such a thing as game addiction exists because they are ignorant of how they can identify it.
You can identify video game addiction in your children if they get bored, angry, or unhappy when you do not allow them to play their games as they want to.
Gaming addiction takes away all that life has to offer from your kids. Some kids even become adults and still have this addiction to gaming. Parents should learn and decipher measures to help them reduce their urge for gaming. Some tips are:
- Set daily limits: Children struggling with gaming addiction like to play games for long hours. The first thing you want to do to help them is reducing their gaming time. Set realistic game time of about two hours daily.
Take it away from them as soon as the limit set is reached. Not regarding the fact that they are just about to finish a match or win a race. It will gradually help them reduce their liking for games.
- Place the console in an open environment: to enforce daily limits, place the game where you can undoubtedly know when they are playing. Do not place it in their rooms where they can have access to it even at midnight.
- Make them earn their game time: When they do not seem to yield quickly, you can take away their game and offer it to them as an incentive for doing exceptional in other aspects of their lives. It will help them achieve a balance.
- Create other social activities for them: The extra hours you are taking from their previous gaming time should be invested in other social activities. Urge them to meet new people and make new friends that are not into games.