Let’s console ourselves that gaming could be good for children
The one thing that used to give me the moral authority to get my kids off their computer games was the commonly held belief that too much screen time was bad for their brains.
And that’s now been blown out the water.
Thanks for nothing, University of Vermont.
Its researchers studied 2,000 school-age children and found that those who spent three hours or more a day playing computer games did better on tasks associated with memory and impulse control than kids who didn’t play at all. In some ways, it seems to make them brainier.
Gaming has a reputation for making some kids aggressive and depressed. But now we’re being told it can actually be a positive thing to do.
But remember this is just one study. Experts still warn that screen time for very young children should be limited.
I’m sick of seeing youngsters glued to the their phones or laptops rather than looking at the world around them or, God forbid, picking
up a book. I’m making massive generalisations here, I know, but on the whole I think access to gadgets has diminished the childhoods of this generation.
I’m just nipping off to shout at my daughter to get off her phone.