Children & Violent Games

Violent video games like the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise and "God of War" titles are bestsellers. Despite the prohibitions against selling them to children, it does happen. While it is the parents' job to ensure that children do not play violent video games that are inappropriate for their age, the debates continue about the effects of violent games on children. With the amount of time that children spend playing violent games, parents have cause for concern.

  1. Aggression

    • According to an article published in the American Psychological Association journal, children exposed to violent games can become more aggressive. They may start to deal with their emotions in an inappropriate and violent manner. Instead of crying when they are hurt, they might lash out at others or become aggressive toward animals. To prevent this, only buy games that are appropriate for your child and limit her video game playing time to a maximum of two hours a day.

    Desensitization

    • A major concern with children playing violent video games is that it may lead to desensitization. Instead of being helpful and caring toward others, the exposure to violent games can cause the child to care less. Keep the gaming console or PC in a public area of the house like the living room, and not in the children's bedroom. This way you can monitor their playing time and what they are playing. In turn, you may prevent the child from developing anti-social behavior.

    Imitation

    • Children are impressionable and often try to imitate what they see in popular media like movies and games. In the case of violent video games, this can lead to harm to the child if he tries to imitate the actions he sees. Violent games often do not show the consequences of the player's actions and reward violent behavior with extra points. Obviously, in real life it does not work this way, and children might imitate what they see in the games because they believe there will be no negative consequences. Always communicate with your child and make sure she can distinguish between right and wrong and explain to her what the consequences of her actions are.

    Bad Moral Influences

    • All children should be taught from an early age that violence toward women, children and animals is wrong, but violent video games can give them the wrong impression. Adults who play games like "Dante's Inferno," "Grand Theft Auto" and "Call of Duty" understand that it is fantasy and is not to be taken out of context, but for children it is another matter. These games allow the play to kill babies, beat up prostitutes and break the necks of dogs. This is definitely not something that children should be exposed to. Always adhere to the ratings displayed on the games and make sure that children do not play these types of games until they can understand that it is fiction. This will prevent them from getting bad moral influences from violent games.

    2. Previous:

    Next:

    • How to Parent a Child With ADD
      Attention deficit disorder can derail even the brightest child, leading to frustration for both of you. PsychCentral reports that people with ADD often have associated mental health issues such as anxiety or obsessive-compulsive traits, which can mak
    • How to Cope With a Highly Sensitive Child
      Children are often sensitive in ways that are difficult to deal with. Many children will react emotionally to events that justify such a response, such as bullying or falling down. Some children, however, will cry or throw a fit when minor inconvenie
    • How to Help Kids With Anger
      Anger is a normal reaction to stress. It can be healthy when its used to convey unhappiness and resolve problems but unhealthy if its kept inside and builds up over time. Stress and frustration can cause children to become angry, especially young chi