How To Keep Your Child’s Passion For Gaming Healthy

Almost all kids nowadays grow up playing video games. On top of being a source of entertainment, video games can often be educational and a way of connecting with friends. However, there is clearly a dark side to gaming – video games can be addictive, and not all game content is suitable for kids. Therefore, it’s important to take measures to make sure that your kid’s gaming experience is kept healthy. Below are a few ways in which you can do this. 

Encourage The Right Games

Some games are targeted at all ages or exclusively at kids –  and are therefore more likely to contain child-friendly content. There are also games out there that are educational – either by harbouring creativity, encouraging problem solving or teaching facts and life skills. Always monitor games that your child is playing for the first time to make sure that they are suitable for their age.

Use Parental Controls

By setting parental controls on your child’s devices, you can prevent them from accessing content that is not suitable to their age. There may also be settings within individual games that you can look into such as the ability to turn off location tracking, disabling the camera and restricting messaging. Such controls are much easier to set if your child has their own device, but if you share a device there are also options. 

Set A Time Limit

Time limits can be set on many devices to prevent kids from playing games for too long. You may also be able to prevent kids playing on their devices during certain hours (such as at night). It’s up to you as to what time limits you choose and when you allow your kids to play games. Try to stick to these time limits as strictly as you can – don’t let your child constantly persuade you to play for longer.

Play With Your Child

Gaming can be a chance to spend quality time with your kids. There are many family-friendly multi-players games that you can play together. You can also take turns to play games. On top of being a chance to bond, playing games with your child can be an opportunity to teach them gaming etiquette. This includes teaching them to take a break if they’re getting frustrated, to play nicely with other online users and to get off a game when it’s time to finish the game. 

Limit In-Game Purchases

A modern gaming issue that many parents are now having to navigate in in-game purchases. It’s important to put restrictions in place to prevent kids purchasing extra content – by always having to ask for your permission, you can prevent them from spending your money without you knowing. Ideally, you should try to limit in-game purchases as much as possible. Steer clear of pay-to-win games that continuously encourage kids to pay for extra content. If you do allow kids to buy content, make it an occasional treat. If you give in too often, kids will expect you to keep paying for in-game purchases. They’re also more likely to waste money on in-game purchases as they get older and it could even be a gateway into online gambling.

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