Is Your Kid Playing Too Many Video Games?

As some of you may know I am not just a coach but also a psychologist. I guess it is really pretty much the same thing as long as you focus on the future, which that is what I tend to do when I try to help people. I work with kids in schools and have my own kids as well. I just wanted to write briefly about what I feel is probably the biggest threat to your children and it is staring you in the face everyday. It's the computer and how much time they spend on it. Lately most kids have been online due to COVID-19 which is unavoidable. Their time on the internet is likely to increase even more post COVID because I believe schools will be quick to implement a hybrid style classroom once they realize they can save money, improve test scores, and reduce class sizes. This is coming in my opinion and really isn't a bad thing. But I digress,,,,the computer is a tool that can be used in many ways. However, if your son or daughter (usually son) is plaing video games excessively they are missing out on life. We all know this but I don't think it has been identified as the real threat that it is. Developmentally speaking, children have a window of opportunity to interact in-person, in real-time, and in varying environments in order to develop social skills and identify their strengths and weaknesses. When they spend the majority of their free time on a computer playing games they are missing that opportunity. They are not developing normally. You don't hear much about this because parents are busy usually and don't mind that their kids are occupied. However, once it becomes apparent that there is an entire generation that missed the boat on this area of development it will become a very big deal....but it will be too late. Monitoring your child's computer time is highly important. Get them involved in sports, music, art, something that is going to serve them later on in life. Just my 2 cents.