Guest Post: Six Deadly Sins of Online Gaming and Digital Parenting

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Everything is good in moderation. That first piece of chocolate is delicious, but after the 20th piece you start and feel a little bit sick. A twenty minute jog may be a great idea, but a two hour jog can be torture. This is a concept that can be applied to all walks of life.Online gaming is an area this is definitely applied to. Online games, such as Ben 10 online games and Scooby Doo games, are great for children if played in moderation and used properly. If your child does not commit the following six deadly gaming sins then they will have great fun and you will take another step closer towards appropriate digital parenting.

Playing online games all of the time

This point has very much been touched upon in the introduction of this article. If your child plays online games all of the time then they could damage their eye sight as well as suffer from bad headaches. Furthermore, playing all of the time lowers the level of fun because no excitement is generated.

Playing the same game

It is important that your child plays several games instead of one game. Your child will experience so much more fun by experiencing different types of games. Not only this, but their mind will constantly be refreshed and revitalised as well. Try and encourage a range of different games, including Ben 10 online games, Scooby Doo games, Batman games, The Powerpuff Girls games, and so on and so forth.

Playing alone all of the time

Nowadays there are a lot of games offering the social aspect. This means that your child can talk to their friends or another individual whilst playing. Your kid does not always have to take advantage of this element. However, it is recommended that they do now and again. After all, you don’t want your little one to become a gamingrecluse.

Screaming at the computer screen

If you notice that your child is getting too emotional whilst playing then it is time to call for a time out. Your child definitely should not be shouting at the computer screen or getting visibly angry if they have lost a level. This is when you know they have become too involved in the game.

Purchasing games

There is no need to pay for online games when there are so many that are available for no cost. Paying for a game online is definitely a deadly sin. However, a lot of parents allow their children to do so because they are unaware of the fact that there are a huge number of free games available. But now you do know, so make sure that your child always goes for the free options.

Taking the back seat

If you notice that homework and dinner time begins to take the back seat in favour of gaming then you need to clamp down on your child’s level of playing. It can easily become the case that children get so engrossed that they do not want to miss a minute of playing. This is never a healthy situation.

If your child is committing one of the six deadly gaming sins mentioned in this article then you definitely need to exterminate the sins now. There is absolutely nothing wrong with playing online games, in fact they can be beneficial, as long as gaming does not go too far.

-Article Contributed by Emily Steves

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