With the growth of technology, children have been influenced in several ways over the years.
It’s no secret that technology has come to stay and we must inspect if the positive side outweighs the negative. Children are a plus to any family. They add joy to any household, little ones that share their thoughts without inhibition.
Every family wants and enjoy the presence of a child in their household. However, having a child is just the first step in this journey. You are also tasked with ensuring the growth of your child into responsible adulthood.
Children love playing games both offline and online. Nowadays, children are being introduced to mobile devices early due to their widespread use.The usage of Digital games in the life of a child has both positive and negative effects and we will begin by discussing the positive ones.
Positive Influence Of Digital Games In Early Childhood
1. Improvement in Social Skills
Different children develop their social skills at various rates. When they play digital games they are sure to relate and form new squads with their fellow players. This is because most digital games allow players at different locations to participate.
Thus, encouraging bonding among them and thereby fostering friendships with their peers.
2. Instills Creativity
Most children are creative. That’s why that child in your class adds an extra touch to his art homework.
To win consecutively at an online game, a child must develop the ability to solve problems while being creative. This aptitude is developed when the game is played numerous times.
3. Improves Problem-Solving Ability
Remember when you were asked by your neighbour’s child “how you produced John, his playmate?” I bet you were surprised to hear such questions emerge from that child.
Children are naturally inquisitive and playing games like Minecraft helps to strengthen their problem-solving abilities.
4. Encourages Healthy Competition
Competition among humans begins at a very young age. Children brag about being the best among their classmates, they brag about wearing the latest clothes and shoes.
Playing digital games only fuels this hunger to keep winning at different endeavours which makes them compete with their peers. This equips them for the outside world.
5. Improves Memory
The crucial period of brain development is during our childhood. Remember the saying from the Bible “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6).
The same phenomenon applies here. The earlier a child starts engaging in activities that improves their memory, the better. Playing games like soduku and face memory helps to achieve this.
6. Sharpens Multitasking Skills
Playing digital games improves your child ability to multitask. For example, children who play video games regularly have improved eye, hand and brain coordination.
They can process their thoughts very quickly while making use of their eyes and telling their hands what to do in quick succession.
7. Broadens Their Knowledge
Some digital games like rocket league, and online board games (chess, monopoly) expand the knowledge of children. This is because they incorporate major life lessons which can be used in adulthood.
Furthermore, games like the Tudor games sharpen the memory of kids’ knowledge of history.
Negative Influence Of Digital Games In Early Childhood
1. Inability to Perform Well in School
Just like adults, children tend to get carried away when they play digital games excessively. This can affect their performance in school adversely and you don’t want your child flopping in their academics.
These games become like an addiction as the child can throw tantrums, hold grudges and behave differently if restricted from playing those games.
2. Emergence of Bizarre Behaviour
Children find it easy to pick up the characters of the adults in their space. A child learns faster by watching you do or exhibit certain behaviours.
If your child plays violent games or games with curse words, he/she can take pick up these characters easily.
3. Social seclusion
Playing digital games excessively by children can cause addiction which in turn leads to social seclusion. Your child might find it difficult to communicate with peers and enjoys staying alone.
This doesn’t mean that staying alone is bad but most children like meeting and playing games with friends at this stage of life.
4. Falling Victim of Sexual Exploitation
One of the tactics used by paedophiles and child molesters is to establish communication with your children through social media and online games. This communication can go on for extended periods if your child is constantly playing an online game.
In conclusion, more digital games will be produced and there will be more technological advances in various sectors of life. Creating a balance between family time, video games, and academics is the key to controlling the influence of digital games on your kids. Furthermore, take advantage of using timely reminders to bring your attention to the activities of your kids especially when you are not close to their location.
