Video Games And Children’s Psychology

Video games are an integral part of most children’s life.

Let’s see what makes them so interesting, and how to let your child play it without spoiling his/her mental or physical health.

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Video Games And Children’s Psychology: What makes Video Games More Interesting for Children?

Rewards

A significant reason why playing games are interesting is because of rewards and recognition given to the player. The higher the rewards the better you are at the game and the children try to aim more maybe because their friends have more than them or just to show off how good they are at the game with their friends. But if their friends have more rewards/points than them, then they might become sad and start wanting to play more and can become grouchy if the parents don’t let them.

To avoid this, make the child understand that it is ok if their friends have more rewards than them and they are just playing for fun.

Illusion of control:

Another reason why children want to keep on gaming is a psychological concept called ‘Illusion of Control’. Games normally show the health of the opponent after the player dies. If it is low, he/she would want to play more as they were close to winning and if it was more, they would think they have to get better.

Are there any benefits playing Video Games?

Even though there are cases where games have led to violent behavior, there are some advantages of playing video games contrary to popular stereotypes.

Studies show that video games -including shooter games- help in increasing logical and creative skills, hand-eye coordination, memory, navigation, and motor skills, etc. Gamers are also able to think about objects in three dimensions and become good at school.

Contrary to the popular belief, gamers tend to be more social, and multiplayer games have become virtual societies where everyone is considered the same. Games also help in building emotional resilience as the child starts learning to cope up with failures in the game.

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Now let’s come to few effective ways to let your child play their favorite video game.

Play the game with your child for some time.

Ask your child to teach them their favorite game and play with them for some time. Then invite them to do something you like. This will show your child that you can do something he likes, and you are just asking him/her to do what you are saying.

Show them how much time video games take out from his/her day

Keep a log for a week on how much time they play per day against other activities in a day. This will make them limit their playtime by their own.

Find out what other things they are interested in and ask them to do a project

Ask them what they are interested in and help them make a project about it. This will stop them from playing for a long time as they are motivated for finishing the project.

Have some family time

Ask the whole family to sit in the living room and talk about what they did, if the children want, they can also talk about their gaming accomplishments.

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Don’t interrupt them in the middle of a competitive match

When they are playing a competitive match, don’t interrupt them as they will have to leave their teammates and maybe lose points, also there is a chance they will get banned for quitting early in fear.

All in all, videogames are not entirely bad. In fact, they can be good for your child, but too much of it is not good at all, for the reasons we discussed. And it isn’t a mammoth task to free a child from his excess video gaming as well.

Happy Parenting!