Many games contain guns, drugs, and violence that can leave indelible marks on a child, and as a caring and cautious parent, it is only right and natural to want to speak to your little one about the things they see in violence-riddled titles like the famous, Call of Duty title that is played by millions of kids each day.
Most are not keen on scenes of human death or suffering, and when we hear of a mass shooting, we often wonder how many hours the suspect spent playing games like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, and that is due to the fact that violent, Shoot ’Em Up games can have a deep influence on young minds.
Children and video games are a duo of the ages as nearly all our childhoods have memories of late-night SNES gaming but today games are far more realistic and portray violence in a new, like-life light, and this can have a profound mental impact on young girls and boys who (according to studies) average one and two hours per day of playtime, respectively.
Teens and older children often spend even more hours playing, and many games are only played online where children can hear explicit content and talk to adults or players without you ever knowing about it, these risks are in addition to the long list of negative themes and gameplay such titles tend to promote:
- Use and abuse of drugs or alcohol.
- Killing or injuring people or animals.
- Foul and obscene gestures or language.
- Racial, gender, and sexual stereotyping.
- Gangs and disrespect for law enforcement.
- Violence and sexual exploitation of women.
- Criminal activity and disregard for authority.
Games with such content are no place for the young and vulnerable who, in serious cases, may become desensitized/normalized to human harm and violence, and children gaming lots of hours often leads to:
- Poor social skills.
- Low grades in school.
- Less sleep and exercise.
- Less reading and writing.
- Less time spent with friends and family.
- Aggressive and unpredictable actions or thoughts.
- Time away from work, family, or once-loved hobbies.
These are all things no parent wants to endure but thankfully, there are ways to ensure your child games safely and appropriately, talk to them to understand what they like in the games they play, and keep the below points in mind:
- Experts suggest parents avoid video games entirely for preschool-aged children.
- Check the ESRB ratings (listed on all games) to ensure its content is age appropriate.
- Define clear and strict rules on what types of games and content your child can play.
- Monitor online interactions and warn your child of the dangers online strangers pose.
- Only let them play when nearby so you can monitor game content and conversations.
It is easy for a child to get roped into these games as they watch their favorite YouTube streamers play them. This is cause for concern, and as a parent, talking to your children about video game violence is vital to their mental well-being as these games hone the power to mold their young developing minds.
Which Games Are Less Violent for Children?
It is easy for kids to get locked into violent games and more. We all know that you can cheat in MW2 or other shooting games to gain an advantage over other players but as a parent, though, you may wish to steer your child away from such titles and consider the popular and innocent, violence-free games below:
- Biped
- Amplitude
- Pix the Cat
- Mini Metro
- Grow Home
- Beyond Blue
- Shime Sharp
- Starseed Pilgrim
- Crossy Road Castle
- Assemble with Care
- Epistory – Typing Chronicles
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
- Clubhouse Games: 21 Classi
Long-Term, Violent Games Effects on Kids and Children
The long-term effects on children who often play violent video games are still being studied but to help mitigate the negative impacts it can have on the mental health or behavioral actions in children, experts suggest sitting with the child to discuss the content they play and to put into context the things they see and act on in games as this can help them to build empathy and avoid desensitization to violent content.
Fortunately, parents have lots of control over the kinds of games or media their kids are exposed to and most so when they are young, which is the time to closely monitor what they play and enjoy and the age to limit the types of games they play and the length of time they are allowed to play them. Follow these steps, talk to your child, and always review game ESRB ratings to ensure its content is child-appropriate.
