I was just on vacation during this Pokémon Go craze and literally experienced several “run-ins” with children of all ages who were “running” into me while walking with their heads buried in their smart phones as their Avatar’s looked to capture Pokémon.
The phenomena of watching children so fixated on their phones that they failed to see people or objects in front of them fascinated me and scared me at the same time. Also, each morning during my perusal of e-news I was seeing numerous reports about Pokémon Go gamers who were experiencing minor to severe injuries while playing the game…and there was even a report of a teenager shot to death in Guatemala while wondering into a violent neighborhood completely unaware of his surroundings as he searched to capture a Pokémon.
Now the science behind the Augmented Reality and Geotracking [Pokémon Go] is quite fascinating and probably will be a huge part of a child’s future gaming experience for a long time to come. The fact that this game formatting is encouraging and reinforcing children to get off
the couch and walk around is a powerfully good inducement for a more healthy physical experience for our children.
BUT, the bigger questions framed by this current phenomena are: what is the role of play in a child’s life and development; and, what will the effects of this type of gaming experience and gaming in general have on the healthy development of children.
Children today more than ever are spending huge amounts of time involved with electronic games, computers, iPads, and other e-activity. Some reports are suggesting that American children are spending more time with electronics than they are with their parents. While
electronic learning games are helpful and while electronic games are fun, we must consider what the longer term development impact on children might be. The answer is not a simple one in that there are pluses and minuses to be weighed in making that judgement. We do however know that play is the “work” of children and play that stimulates imagination and creative expression is very helpful to brain development. We also know that as children get older, play is an important way for children to learn social skills and people skills.
With interactive “people play” limited in the home and with cuts to recess and physical education in schools we can see new variants as to how children are playing in today’s culture. Traditional research on the importance of people stimulated play on brain development and social and emotional foundation is what we must consider as we try to figure out how this new era of play will be affecting children over
time.
Scientific American in 2009 published an article on the serious need for play in childhood and concluded the research saying “Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed”. These conclusions were based on children being allowed and encouraged to spend time in imaginative play, people interactive play, social play, and learning play along with periods of gross motor physical activity.
Let me make a few comments on video games and e-gaming. I have to begin by saying first that parents must take responsibility to monitor the genre of video games their children are playing and how often and for how long their children are playing these games. Video games are
addictive so watching the time your child spends playing video games is essential. If your child is exposed to a steady diet of violent image games and violent behavior task games children may begin over time to become somewhat desensitized to actual or real violence in their lives. This particular impact variable could negatively affect both executive function in decision making and stimulate a lack of control issues among certain children. Parents also have to watch for addictive behaviors, becoming concerned when video play looks like more of a compulsive activity that begins to exclude other typical family time.
Second, there have been some studies that suggest that small, monitored doses of video games playing can have positive impact on some particular cognitive functioning in children. To be a successful gamer you must learn to follow directions and as the child advances in levels
they usually have to multitask. Cognitively there is ongoing mapping, pattern recognition, and the child must learn how to judge the situation in order to overcome obstacles. Video games also increase hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and spatial reasoning. While I no longer have small children who are into the gaming culture I do acknowledge that there are pluses and minuses to be considered by parents in allowing or banning video play in the home.
Like so many other issues these days, the concept of video games is controversial. The line between a healthy amount of gaming and an excessive amount is easily blurred and crossed– especially when video games are as addicting as studies claim. As parents, it is prudent to
find moderation in all things. Banning games entirely may be good for some households, but others (depending on the prominence of gaming within the environment) will find that it may socially isolate their children, take away a source of joy and possibly cognitive development. However, opening the door to the good, will also allow access to the bad including exposing the children’s minds to the realm of violence, taking their free time away from doing other things, and putting them at risk for obesity. In the end, it is important that the parent monitors what kinds of games children are playing and being exposed to.
I watch how my daughter and son-in-law manage the schedules of my four grandchildren who are all busy, talented and inquisitive children, so I empathize with the life pressures on today’s parents and I see first-hand the structural impact of managing the family home with so many child focused activities dominating any 24 hour period. I get dizzy and physically exhausted from all the action and coordination it takes them to get the grand children to the variety of activates that they are involved with. Parents who spend their days rushing their children between endless practices, appointments and performances undoubtedly want their children to develop into talented and successful adults. But according to several developmental studies, this kind of frenetic appointment structuring around the clock isn’t the best method for
child learning, underscoring the fact once again that children of all ages also need unstructured play time to grow and develop into healthy, happy adults.
Which leads me back full circle to how important imaginative play, unstructured play time, interactive people play and good old fashioned- get out of the house and run around play are in being the necessary task ingredients for typical, healthy childhood development.
The best advice I can leave you with is to make sure your house can accommodate all types of play in your child’s life. Video gaming can be good but not to the exclusion of the more traditional types of play activity. Remember…play is the “work” of children. It is important in form and function to helping your child achieve healthy developmental milestones in social, emotional, cognitive and physical development.
Get outside and play with your children, have game nights at home around the table- have fun and smile a lot together. You will all be glad that you did.
Be well, joe cozzo
