Tips for Parents about Gaming

Gamer

Digital technology can have positive impacts on the lives of children. In fact, digital technology is a great way to communicate with each other, stay connected, and is a useful learning tool. It’s important to know the safe and healthy ways to use digital technology.

It’s also important to know that too much digital technology, including gaming, can lead to problems.

What are the positives?

Gaming can help your child develop or improve skills, like:

problem solving
seeing patterns
testing their ideas to find out if they work
memory and thinking
making decisions
hand-eye coordination

To keep gaming a good learning experience for your child, think about:

the content rating of the game and what your child needs to play it
the number of players in the game – Is the game played alone? If it’s played with others, do you know who they are?
the type of game – Is the game a competition or do the players work together?

Knowing about the games your child plays can help you guide them and lower the risk of problems.

When does gaming become harmful?

Gaming can become a problem when it harms your child’s mental or physical health. Or has unwanted effects on their day-to-day life. This is why it’s important to set limits for the games your child plays online.

Setting limits on your child’s gaming ...

The limits you set for gaming depends on your child’s age, developmental stage, their needs, and your family preferences.

Manage online game time so there is a good balance between it and other activities. It’s important that youth spend time on other daily activities, like:

homework
physical activity
sports and other healthy hobbies
family relationships
being with friends their own age
household chores

Think about planning parts of the day without screen time. Use this as family time to eat together, read, go for walks, or spend time with pets.

Your child learns best by following what you do. Set healthy limits on gaming time for yourself as well.

Ways to set limits ...

Turn off games an hour before bed to help with sleep.
Check what games your child plays and how they interact with others online.
Remind your child that having access to games is a privilege and there are responsibilities and limits.
Do what you say you’ll do if they don’t follow rules. For example, if they don’t stop when they’re supposed to, they lose some screen time the next day.

When to talk to your child about their gaming habits ...

Gaming concerns aren’t only related to how much time your child spends playing games. Also think about:

your child’s gaming and who they’re playing with
the type of game they’re playing
your child’s developmental age
your child’s personality

Watch for warning signs, like:

mood changes (such as being more upset, angry, or frustrated than usual during gaming and when asked to stop)
not keeping or making plans with family or friends
staying up late or not getting up late for school
skipping meals or eating more than usual
doing less physical activity or playing less sports
spending more time gaming than they use used to
spending less time with the family pet or reading less