Macquarie University psychologist Wayne Warbuton gives 10 tips for parents to ensure their kids play healthy video games

RIGHTLY worried about the harm violent video games are having on your addicted kids? A psychologist gives 10 tips for healthy gaming.

father and son playing video game

EXCLUSIVE: Parents are being urged to play video games with their kids so they can control screen time and check for violence and inappropriate content.

Macquarie University psychologist Wayne Warburton warns too much time spent playing violent video games generates responses in children similar to the long term effects of living in a violent household or a war-torn country.

And he has come up with 10 tips for parents who want to ensure healthy video game play by their kids.

‘Brain scanning studies see it (violent video gaming) desensitises responses to violence, you see the world as more hostile, you over-estimate the likelihood of being murdered,” Warburton told News Corp Australia.

Unhealthy responses ... Children who spend large amount of time playing violent video games develop responses similar to living in a violent household or a war-zone. Picture News Corp

“If you get bumped in the corridor you are more likely to see it as deliberate, we see the development of a hostile bias and increases in aggressive behaviour,” he added.

In Australia children are spending an average 5 hours a day engaged with screens of some kind including, mobile phones, music videos, video games and DVDs, Warburton said.

“That’s more time than they spend with their parents or their teachers.

“The way you think and feel and behave reflects the world you are in,” he said.

“Our brain wires up to reflect the experiences we have.”

Parents worried about the type of material their children are exposed to through this screen time can take action to moderate its effects, he said.

Put an end to it ... Too much screen time affects posture, vision and affects sleep patterns.

Screen time should be limited to no more than two hours a day and kids should take breaks every 30 minutes to minimise prolonged sitting and vision problems, Mr Warburton said.

Children should have a two hour screen free time before bed time because the blue light from ipads and computers interrupts the sleep hormone melatonin.

“The closer the screen the greater the interruption to sleep,’ he said.

Televisions don’t emit blue light and are further away.

Parents should encourage their children to play less violent anti-social social games and more educational, prosocial games.

“Video games that are about encouraging helping behaviour have been shown to increase helping behaviour in children 10-15 minutes after they finish playing,” he said.

Prosocial games help promote helping behaviour in children. Picture supplied.

Keeping video games out of the bedroom reduces the amount of use.

Adults also need to moderate their own screen use because children copy their patents “modelling healthy screen use is crucial,” he says.

Warburton says the experiences we have in life are like the food for our brain and just as we need a healthy diet for a healthy body so we need a healthy media diet.

Parents should aim to gets their kids to spend more time being active that sitting and could replace sedentary games with active e-games but should also aim to get their children outdoors.

A study in Canada found parents who encouraged their children to spend more time playing outdoors faced resistance initially found “after six months kids got over the shock and preferred being outside with the family,” he said.

10 TIPS FOR HEALTHY GAME PLAY FOR YOUR KIDS

Aim for your children to have a healthy media diet in the 3 key areas:

Moderate amount (1-2 hours per day recreational screen use);

Content (less of the violent/anti-social/discriminatory media; more pro-social and educational media; more active games).

Remember, you know more about content even if your child knows more about playing the games.

Age-appropriateness, especially for children under 8.

Keep video games (on any device) out of the bedroom

This will usually help to lessen the amount of use and moderate the type of use.

Aim for more physical activity time than sitting screen time

This isn’t easy, but in an ideal world parents would be creating lots of fun opportunities each day for activity, this can include replacing sedentary e-games with active e-games but should also include more real-world activity than e-based activity.

When playing video games, have an active break after 30 minutes

This minimises prolonged sitting and sustained close-vision effects and helps to switch to other activity.

Encourage a good safe playing technique. That is, a technique that:

Avoids poor postures;

Avoids repetitive movements;

Ensures sufficient space for active e-games.

Know what games your children are playing and monitor their game use

In a recent study increased parental monitoring of screen use was associated with reductions in screen time, violent media exposure, aggressive behaviour and BMI, and increases in hours of sleep, pro-social behaviour and school performance.

Set and enforce rules around use

This may include time quotas (e.g., maximum 2 hours per day of entertainment media, averaged across the week) and content restrictions.

Model appropriate screen use and participation in real world activities

Children copy their parents, so modelling healthy screen use is crucial;

Children are more likely to be active if their parents are. In Canada, programs that replaced screen time with family time were met with initial resistance by kids, but after 6 months or so family members came to prefer family time.

Have a screen-free time before bedtime

Sleep professionals recommend 2 hours because the effect of screens with blue light interferes with sleep hormones.

The closer the screen the greater the interruption to sleep.

Be actively involved in your child’s game play

This is especially important if games frighten kids, depict violent or anti-social behaviour or upset kids in other ways. It is ideal to have a parent nearby to put video game content into context and/or to help calm kids/teens if needed.

Co-playing games can be helpful, but to be beneficial the parent should be actively communicating with the child during play.

Originally published as Macquarie University psychologist Wayne Warbuton gives 10 tips for parents to ensure their kids play healthy video games