5 The bad impact of playing games frequently for children & bull; hello healthy

There are many studies on the effects of playing games on children's development. Some studies have shown positive results, but there are also many studies that show the opposite. Researchers argue that regardless of your little one playing on a portable game console, laptop, tablet, orsmartphone, the frequency of playing games basically will have a negative impact on the development of children in the future.

The bad impact of playing games often

Here are some of the bad effects that can be experienced by children if they play games frequently:

1. Health problems

Did you know that playing games often can actually trigger various chronic diseases? Without you knowing it, playing games is a temporary lifestyle because it makes you lazy to move. Yes, when you play games, only the eyes and hands are focused on working. While the rest of the body remains motionless.

If this habit is carried out continuously, then you are at higher risk for obesity, weakening of muscles and joints, and even a significant decrease in vision due to exposure to blue light from gadget screens. You are also at risk for more health problems if these bad habits are accompanied by a poor diet, smoking or drinking alcohol.

You may not feel the risks from your lifestyle immediately. Usually, the effects of this bad habit will only start to feel for years after you get used to the routine.

2. Decrease in academic achievement at school

The excitement offered when playing games is very different from the days that children go through when studying at school. Yes, if at school children generally feel bored and depressed, it is different when they play games.

When children are in the game addiction stage, they will do everything they can to be able to play games. As a result, many children do not focus when absorbing lessons in class, are lazy to study, and dare to skip school. These various things lead to a decline in children's academic achievement at school.

3. Withdraw from social life

Children who are addicted to games tend to prefer to spend hours completing the mission of the game they are playing. This of course will have a negative impact on the social life of children in the future. The reason is, children prefer to interact digitally rather than in the real world. In psychological terms this condition is called asocial.

Asocial is a personality dysfunction characterized by voluntary withdrawal and avoidance of any social interaction. Asocial people tend to ignore other people and are busy with their own world.

Usually, children who are asocial are often clumsy when asked to start a conversation and get bored quickly when invited to meetings that involve many people.

4. Behave aggressively

The violent content that many video games provide can cause children to become impatient and behave aggressively in their daily lives. They will often get angry and irritable more often when they are banned or asked to stop playing games.

This loss of self-control makes children tend to prioritize gaming in his life. As a result, children will do various ways to be able to complete their desire for addiction, regardless of the consequences and risks. Including behaving aggressively to others.

5. Mental disorders

Game addiction is characterized when the child is no longer able to control his desire to play games. As a result, children have the desire to keep playing games.

The bad news is that the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to include game addiction as one of the so-called new mental disorders gaming disorder. This is based on the phenomenon of increasing cases of game addiction from around the world.

The plan, gaming disorder proposed to be included under the broad category "Mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders", specifically under the subcategory "Substance abuse or addictive behavior disorders."

This means that health experts around the world agree that addiction to games can have the same effects as addiction to alcohol or drugs.

Ideal time to play games

From the various explanations above, you may be wondering what, really, is the ideal time to play the game?

According to a study conducted by experts at Oxford University, England, children should not play games for more than one hour per day. Not only playing games, experts also ask parents to limit the time children spend using electronic devices.

This is because your child may also often spend time behind the computer screen like smartphone or television. So, maybe when you're done playing games on the computer, the child will move and play on smartphone-his.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children use electronic devices for no more than two hours a day.

Regardless of the rules that you will apply to your little one, make sure you are strict when it comes to limiting your time playing games and electronic devices.

A powerful way to limit the time children play games

In order for children to avoid the various negative impacts caused by playing games, please check the following tips:

Set play time. Before starting to play, agree on how much time the child can play the game. Ask the child to see what time it is, then emphasize that one hour from that time he must stop playing the game.
Do not fall for the whining of children. Even though you can't bear to see a child whining for an extra hour to play, make sure you don't get hooked. If your child says, “Five more minutes, okay. This is so much responsibility, ”the whining replied with something like,“ You can do it save and play again tomorrow. Come on, turn it off now. "
Sterilize a child's room from electronics. apart from smartphone and portable game consoles, children can also access games from a computer or television. Therefore, make sure you do not provide a computer or television in the bedroom.
Find other interesting activities. After an hour of gaming, take the kids to bike around the house or exercise in the afternoon. Goal one, so that children do not get bored and continue to remember games. In essence, invite children to do activities that they really like.