Computer Game Addiction, Is Your Child in It?

There are so many games on computers that the young spend their time so much on. Parents are usually hopeless in taking them away from computer gadgets as they persuade them to do other things like focusing on studies instead of playing all day, some even all night!

Negative Effects of Computer Games

Some of the negative effects of computer games are as follows:

1.Children or teens failing in school. They tend to focus on computer games at home and even during breaks in school instead of studying or doing their assignments. Some schools ban children from carrying their gadgets like cellphones, tablets, i-pad, to prevent them from playing computer games, or to prevent them from using it to cheat during examinations.

2.Children spend money to play in computer shops using their daily allowance for food in school. If the child came from a poor family, this will cause hunger for him because instead of buying a snack in school, he will use it to pay for computer games in nearby computer shops. This is one of the reasons why local governments do not allow computer shops near schools.They are also banned from allowing students in entering the shop; they can tell it f the kid is wearing a school uniform. But some teens who are addicted to computer games will always find a way not to be caught; they bring extra clothes so they can easily enter the computer shops and play.

3.They tend to be addicted to games. They will ignore their parents advice to do good in school by focusing on their studies. But this is not the case when the child has his mind roaming and thinking of his favorite games while the teacher is talking about the day’s lesson. His mind is focused on what strategy he will use to get high scores or win over his opponents.

There are online games that involve winning money, and this is the worst of it when the student is already addicted to it, as he aims to win and have more money he can use to play longer hours. Computer shops usually charge a player on per hour basis. There also those that offer unlimited playing hours depending on the amount to be paid.

4.He will lack socialization skills. He will just focus on few friends who also have the same addiction to games like him; or to his online friends. This will limit his ability to mingle well with other people including his relatives because he tends to reject attending important family occasions.

5.His health is affected too. Instead of walking, getting some morning or late afternoon sunshine, he tends to sit all day in front of the computer; or to lie in bed playing on his tablet, i-pod or laptop. His muscles and bones will become weak for lack of exercise. At times, he forget to eat on time because he do not want to miss a game or when he wins and he is too engrossed on it.

These are some of the negative effects of computer games, and it is the parent’s responsibility to guide them from spending too much time on it. Schools also have a big part in guiding them so their future would not be bleak if they flunk their grades. Children should be encouraged to join sports activities in school or to join in the varsity team to make them physically busy instead of sitting all day playing online games.