A lot of youngsters are getting into excessive gaming these days. Studies have shown that excessive gaming can cause attention difficulties and poor academic performance. It has also been proved that games interfere with social development and might be addictive. This kind of addiction has even been classified as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, it’s significant that you simply are conscious of the addictive nature of gaming and apply strategies to your children to combat these negative effects. So, here are some tips regarding how to manage your children’s time.
- REMOVE GAMES FROM THE STUDY ENVIRONMENT
Today, our kids are surrounded by gadgets having multiple games, be it a TV in your living room, a desktop computer with gaming programs installed, or even a tablet or a smartphone with all sorts of gaming apps. With so many distractions close by, it’s no surprise that the temptation to play games sometimes trumps the responsibility to study. If you can separate the gaming environment of your child from their study environment, you may be able to alleviate this. The more the environment around your children encourages that they work productively, the less they will feel the temptation to play.
- SET A TIME LIMIT
You need to manage your children’s time to make sure that they’re not spending all their time gaming. One way in which you can manage their time effectively is by setting up a timetable. For example, what they should achieve in the upcoming week. Make time slots for your children in which you can divide the tasks.
- USE TIME FOR GAMING AS A REWARD
Another strategy to help your children spend less time on gaming and more time on homework is to use gaming as a reward for completed homework. If your children struggle to get homework done because of gaming, try setting a rule that they will only be allowed to play once they complete their homework. To help your children with their homework, you can also get them home tuitionssince the home tutors can be fully attentive towards the children and won’t let them distract.
- GIVE THEM CHOICES
You can set some parameters. Having a time by which they must be away from their gadgets is not unreasonable. Of course, the older the child, the more they must be given the freedom to make their mistakes. But, the major choice, the one they ought to be aware of, is that when you pay for a TV, a computer, or a smartphone, they are agreeing to the limits of its use. Tell your child that the gadgets will be too much of a distraction for them.
Ask them what kind of restrictions they can commit to. Negotiating with your children shows that you respect their decisions, draws them in, and allows them to feel that things are done in a way where they have some say. We teach our children a lot, but we miss an important lesson when we don’t allow them to learn how to be responsible decision-makers.
