13 Jun 2024
Most children in the United Kingdom have heard these words at least once in their lifetime! I will explain to you if this quote is true from my perspective as a 12-year old.
Is gaming bad for children’s mental health?
Why do many parents believe that gaming is a negative activity for children’s mental health? Most parents who have not grown up with gaming tend to group all gaming experiences under one umbrella. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. In this article, I will share with you how video gaming can have a majorly positive impact on your child’s happiness and mental health, and even make them smarter; either way, the right type of gaming experience can be time well spent!
For many parents, gaming is viewed as a negative experience and there has been a huge amount of press about its damaging effects, like it’ll turn kids’ eyes square, and that’s not entirely wrong.
Your eyes could indeed be damaged from gaming for prolonged periods, but gaming for moderate amounts of time can have a positive impact.
There is a huge difference between “good games” and “bad games”. Things like watching inane videos on YouTube (literally called “brainrot”) or social media can have a negative effect on many aspects of a child’s mental health, can greatly reduce attention span and show unfiltered content, especially in short forms like TikTok and YouTube shorts.
Research has shown that gaming increases brain capacity and allows children who play video games to focus better, to be able to remember more by using attention control and reward processing to stimulate brain activity.
Games like Minecraft can improve cognitive abilities like logic, decision-making and problem-solving, as well as unleashing kids’ creativity! Action video games can improve hand-eye coordination because, in many games, you need quick reactions and concentration to meet the demands of the game you play. Puzzle and strategy games like The Witness or Risk Online can help develop a child’s problem-solving skills. Social games like Fortnite or FIFA can enable children to connect and socialise safely online with their friends. Even if children only play for short periods of time, the effects can be tremendously positive!
In summary, if you dedicate time to find the right gaming experiences for your child, there can be huge benefits to their development. The main point is this: don’t bunch all screens together and moderation of course is critical! Parents, there is a big difference between scrolling on a smartphone and having a great experience with a game designed for your child’s age group.
By James Blake, aged 12.
Aldwickbury School Year 7
