Toddlers Playing Video Games More Than Ever

Kids are starting to play not long after learning to walk and talk. But is it harmful to start so early?

Tools

by Derek James/Photojournalist Billy Carrier

Story Created: Jan 23, 2012 at 10:01 AM EDT

Story Updated: Jan 23, 2012 at 11:06 AM EDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -  They are one of the fast growing segments of the video game population and most haven't even started kindergarten yet.

An NPD Group study found the number of gamers between the ages of 2 and 5 has jumped 17 percent since 2009, making it the fast growing among all kids age groups.

One reason may be that many young dads in their 20's and 30's grew up with Atari and Nintendo and they want to share their love of video games with their young kids. 

"When our kids see us playing video games they want to do it too and we think 'well ok it's fun let's try it out." Psychologist Dr. Patrick O'Connor at Southeast Psych says if supervised and in moderation gaming can be an enjoyable activity for toddlers.

"As long as your child is participating in a variety of activities. Kids are going to be excited about things that their parents are excited about, especially at that age. So if a child sees their parent only excited about video games that's pretty much what their scope of interest may be limited to," says Dr. O'Connor.

There are obvious warning signs parents should watch for in their kids playing video games at any age.

"If your child is responding in a negative way to the games that they are shutting down, not talking to others, being obsessive about it. You have to be aware of that. You have to be aware of that and absolutely give that weight and say maybe video games aren't for my kid," adds O'Connor.

As to the idea that educational games or interactive consoles like the Wii are any better than traditional games Dr. O'Connor says " A video game is a video game is a video game."
 

blog comments powered by Disqus

What's On TonightFull Schedule

8:00
raising hope
9:00
new girl
9:30
the mindy project