71% Parents Agree Gaming Can Be Good For Kids, And 86% Feel Teens Spend Too Much Time Gaming

We know two things that can never go together -- gaming and parents. Parents always feel that gaming is distracting kids from studying while causing other problems, however, a recent report has revealed that many parents believe that gaming can be good for kids, sort of.

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This is according to research (poll) conducted by CS Mott Children¡¯s Hospital National Poll on Children¡¯s health in the US. As per the poll, 71 percent parents feel that gaming is good for their children. However, this doesn¡¯t mean gaming isn¡¯t causing any problems.

As per the poll, 86 percent parents also agreed that teenagers end up spending too much time gaming. Moreover, almost half of the parents say that gaming sometimes or frequently interferes with common teen activities with family. Moreover, 46 percent parents feel gaming takes time away from sleep.

According to Gary Freed, co-director at the University of Michigan, "Although many parents believe video games can be good for teens, they also report a number of negative impacts of prolonged gaming."

He further added, "Parents should take a close look at their teen's gaming behaviour and set reasonable limits to reduce harmful impacts on sleep, family and peer relationships and school performance. Parents can play an important role by setting clear rules about appropriate content and how much time is too much time spent on video games."

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Some parents have managed to circumvent this issue. 23 percent parents reward teens to spend less time on video games while 14 percent parents actually resorted to hiding the gaming devices. Around 75 percent parents encourage other activities such as sports arts etc instead of gaming.

In the end, it is important for parents to understand that even though gaming helps kids in improving their cognitive responses and thinking capabilities, it cannot come at the expense of quality family time or academics or other extracurriculars that can help a child be multi-dimensional and help in healthy learning and development.