It’s the latest dilemma for any modern-day parent. Should I let my child play video games? There have been countless studies out there arguing for and against the benefits of introducing our little ones to
It’s the latest dilemma for any modern-day parent. Should I let my child play video games? There have been countless studies out there arguing for and against the benefits of introducing our little ones to virtual characters on a screen.
While some scientists say that video games are disruptive for sleeping patterns in children, asserting that the bright lights block the release of sleep hormone melatonin, there are others who have argued that they can actually placate our youngsters. A recent study by Medical Daily argued against the common belief that video games make our children more violent, and actually found a correlation between decreased violence and regular game play.
But while these common arguments may make us feel a little indecisive, we have to question, if we are to believe option two, is there in fact a market for kids’ games any more? One Metro blogger recently argued that the kids’ gaming market is decreasing: with more video games than ever released this year with an 18 certificate, it could be argued that games developers are making the aforementioned decision for us: to dissuade kids from gaming.
Children may not be the target audience for these ‘adult’ games such as Call of Duty, but on the flipside, there seems to now be an upward trend of adult games seemingly being targeted towards a more juvenile audience. This is particularly prevalent in the online gaming world – games that involve the highly contentious online gambling element are now looking more bubbly, colourful and ‘kiddy’ than ever. Take CasinoSagaFans.com – the site is replete with games that are based on popular games like Candy Crush, making the most of bright colours and ‘winning’ noises that would commonly be associated with children.
So if we’re seeing this seeming shift in games marketing, is it perhaps time we took a stand to make sure our kids don’t have access to inappropriate material? It’s one thing to make sure we’re not buying our under-18s games like Call of Duty, but do we have to be more careful when it comes to monitoring our children’s online activity?
If children’s video games really are heading for oblivion, then perhaps this is something for parents to embrace and maybe even take the opportunity to use more ‘traditional’ methods to play and bond with their children. What we need to make sure first, however, is that we’re not all just turning into big kids ourselves.
