Problem-Solving Parent: Managing video games and kids
PORTLAND, Ore. - It's a typical afternoon at the Robertson home in the Cedar Mill area.
The children – Kai, age 9, and Miyana, age 7 - have done their homework, practiced their piano lessons and cleaned their bedrooms.
How did their mom and kindergarten teacher, Betsy Roberston, manage that? She offered video games as a reward.
While challenging KATU Problem Solver Shellie Bailey-Shah to a game of tennis on the Kinect gaming system, Kai talks about his love of video games.
“How much do you like video games?” asked Bailey-Shah.
“I like them a lot, because the Kinect is interactive, but it's also looking at a screen,” said Kai.
On this day, Kai and Miyana have invited two other friends to their home to play video games. They are all together in an upstairs playroom.
There’s a lot right about how Betsy has set up the play date. First, the gaming console is in a common area. Next, Kai and Miyana are interacting with each other and their friends, instead of holed up alone in their bedrooms. Lastly, Betsy has set a time limit.
“Usually, it's about a half an hour that they get, especially if it's a sit-down one,” said Robertson. “On more active games, it's a little bit longer, because they're taking turns and moving.”
“So if mom and dad didn't put any limits on you playing video games,” asked Bailey-Shah, “how often would you play?”
“I'd probably play them all day,” laughs Mason Cerutti, age 9, a friend of Kai’s.
The American Pediatric Association recommends no more than two hours a day of total screen time. That's a combination of video games, computers, smart phones and television. But even two hours can be too much for some kids.
Parents should ask these three questions:
• How does my child act after playing? Are they stimulated or dulled? Energized or irritable?
• Does gaming prevent my child from doing other activities, like sports, hobbies or playing outside?
• Does my child display addictive behavior?
“First thing when they wake up, first thing when they walk in the house, constantly wanting to be engaged in a game, that's a warning,” said Dr. James Mol, program manager of the Intensive Outpatient and Dialectical Behavior Outpatient Therapy Programs at Providence Portland Medical Center.
Otherwise, Dr. Mol says video gaming can be just plain fun, but parents need to monitor the violence and maturity level of some games.
To help you evaluate the appropriateness of certain games for your kids, click here.
For a list of family-friendly games, click here.
To read more "Problem-Solving Parent" stories, visit the KATU.com Problem Solvers page.
