One of the main predicaments of parents today is controlling their kids’ computer time. This issue has become a major concern for parents, school guidance counselors and child psychologists.
It cannot be denied that computers and other portable game consoles can be quite addictive as proven by the amount of time spent by young children using them. Millions of households also own PCs and video game consoles and the latest video game industry statistics showed that 190 million households in the U.S. will be using a next-generation video game console in 2012. The figures provided by Grabstats.com also showed that 65 percent of American households play computer or video games.
Other survey findings revealed that of children aged 0-8 years old, one in 10 use an iPad, iPod, smart phone or similar device to play games, watch videos or use other apps. The average time spent in a typical day doing this is 43 minutes.
Parent should be aware that while playing video games can be fun for their kids, spending too much time on computers and game consoles do not provide health and social benefits. As children are confined in their room sitting on a chair or on their bed for several hours, they are lacking in social interaction and exercise.
Keep in mind that children need to have contact with other kids to develop their social skills. In addition, they need physical activities to develop their bones and muscles while they are growing up. Without these activities, they are more likely to become loners and strangers to other children and are at greater risk of becoming obese.
It should be a priority then to limit their time using computers and game consoles to only an hour or two hours at the most. Scheduling it on certain days is also a good idea. Going beyond the recommended time is already considered an addiction which could lead to serious problems later on.
Photo courtesy of Tech Addition
Originally posted on March 11, 2012 @ 1:59 am
