Does Gaming Make Kids Dumber
January 16, 2008 by Julie Bonner
Filed under News Stories, Toy Talk, Video Games for Kids, Video Games for Teens
Interesting question huh? Well, do you think gaming makes kids dumber? According to this year’s CES, that may be just the case.
Because of this report, the question of gaming and the impact it has on our kids has been brought up once again. A summit was held to discuss the effect on young brains that gaming has.
Here’s their conclusion:
The “Technology industry experts” who gathered to discuss the issue arrived at the conclusion that kids should not be exposed to such devices and games until they are at least seven. Up until that point the synapse connections are being wired up, shaping the brain for its life ahead, bombardment of senses could influence this design, resulting in shortened attention spans.
"If you watch kids on a computer, most of them are just hitting keys or moving the mouse as fast as they can. It reminds me of rats running in a maze,” said Educational psychologist Jane Healy, backed by research that computer games activated the right brain associated “flight or fight” instincts rather than a balanced and considered approach to issues.
They recommended keeping kids away from video games until the age of 7, which would allow for normal brain development to occur. You can read the rest of this very interesting article here.
This is a subject that I would love your feedback on. We held off on video games until my son was 7 (ironic). My 3 year old is really not interested in them too much yet and my daughter, who’s the oldest at 10, just received her very first game system ever. She barely plays the thing and that’s okay with me.
We do put limits on my son’s playing time and it’s really not an issue in our house, which I am thankful for. So, please share so I can hear what your experiences and views about gaming and kids are.
