Is My Child Addicted to Video Games?

Gone are the days where kids played simple video games like Pong, Pac Man, and Super Mario Brothers. They were fun games to play for an hour, maybe two, but eventually they got old and it was time to move on and go play outside. These days, video games have become an entirely new monster. They are bigger, more immersive, contain more content, and incorporate social interaction, all of which makes them more enjoyable, and often downright addictive.

You may have heard news reports of children playing modern video and computer games for such extended periods of time that they faint, neglect their hygiene, or even are driven to suicide when they are no longer allowed to play. These stories are exceedingly rare, but that doesn’t mean that compulsive video game playing can’t bring about great consequences to youth and their families.

More commonly, the consequences of video game addiction start out small before they become glaring and obvious. Perhaps you’ve noticed that your child is starting his or her homework later in the da, or maybe you’ve seen new signs of aggression or agitation when you try to tell your child their video game time is over.

If you’ve noticed changes such as these, it’s possible that your child’s video game use is becoming addictive. As with any addiction, the consequences often become progressively worse over time until someone intervenes, or the addict experiences a consequence that outweighs the pleasure they receive from their addiction.

So what can you do?

Talk to them

This may be an obvious one, but talking to your child about his/her video game use in a compassionate, non-judgmental way may give you good information about the role that the game is playing in his or her life. You may discover that your child uses his or her video game as a way of coping with the stress experienced at school. Or you may find out that your child simply isn’t challenged enough, and all they need is more extracurricular activities.

Set boundaries

I believe that one of the most important initial steps is to set very firm, consistent boundaries around your child’s video game use. Making sure the video game console or computer is in a common area of the home also will help to keep your child accountable. If limiting your child’s video game time to, say, an hour or two per day seems to cause them extreme distress and results in fights or repeated complaints about how they aren’t getting “enough,” it may be time to take further action.

Find outside help

If you feel that video game use has gotten too out of control and you are unable to work with your child, it may be time to find some help. Family therapy will likely be more effective initially when trying to deal with the behavior of video game use. Find a good family therapist that has some experience dealing with compulsive behaviors. Remember, addiction is a family dynamic; everyone has a role to play in treating the issue.

As therapy progresses, you may discover that there are underlying emotional issues your child is soothing with video game use. At that point, individual therapy for your child may be appropriate, and can further advance your child’s progress in his or her recovery from compulsive video game use.

Please comment with any questions below. Thank you for reading!