At what age should you allow your children to play video games?

1. 66

   alexandriaruthkposted 12 years ago

   At what age should you allow your children to play video games?
   
   -- after pre school or even before that is ok. What do you think?

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2. 60

   duffsmomposted 12 years ago

   I think any age is fine as as long as the games are age appropriate and there is a time limit for the kids - say 30 minutes a day or whatever the parent thinks is right.  There are a lot of benefits if the video game format is used properly.  Hand-eye coordination is one, problem solving is another.
   
   Another benefit is that a child can learn the lesson of "practice makes perfect." I used this all the time when my kids were young and they had trouble mastering something. I told them "it's like when you started playing Mario, remember how you couldn't get a level and you kept at it and finally got it done."  They could easily understand that illustration.

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3. 0

   number2sonposted 12 years ago

   I don't have any kids, so I am not sure what I would do as a parent yet.

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4. 68

   Lady Guinevereposted 12 years ago

   Not until Middle School.  They have way too much learning to do and socializing and developing their brains and motor skills.  Those who play video games become less social.  They become addicts to it, seriously.  I wrote several articles at Zujava about what a child teaches you while you are not paying attention and thinking they are cuties.  A child needs touch and a parent to guide them and substituting that for a video game or TV is wrong.  That is what we are reaping right now.  Children who got what they wanted and not what they needed.  It does cause violence in the child eventually when they become teens ad adults.  Did you also know that there is a new part of the brain that starts it's growth in the teen years?  Yes, indeed.  Oh there is so much that parent's have no idea what is going on with their children.

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5. 96

   peeplesposted 12 years ago

   Age is unimportant as long as what the child is doing is supervised and ideally the parent is proactive in. On rainy days I play the Wii with my children so that they still get some exercise in and we have a blast doing it. Anyone who thinks every child who touches a video game will become some addicted held up in their room should meet my children. I struggle to keep them inside and they know that the video games we play are about family time (no different than monopoly).

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6. 84

   peachpurpleposted 12 years ago

   mine started at age 5 years old. He plays with his uncle so i can be rest assured that he doesn't play any violence game and limited the duration too.

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