With several features working their way through and prices being dropped, smartphones have found a strong ground in all our lives. This platform has become so popular, that everyone, from kids to teenagers to adults has their lives revolving around it. It’s become our go-to for entertainment and also to make our lives more convenient. While for us grown-ups, mobile gaming was something new in our lives, the kids from this generation have always had it as a part of their lives. One of the most popular reasons for kids using smartphones is to play games, even more than social media. Some of the common ones that were recently attracting the youngsters were PUBG and Pokémon Go. There were a lot of unfortunate cases with kids being addicted to PUBG that appeared in the news.
Being addicted to gaming has dangerous consequences. One of the more serious consequences is how gaming can potentially distract kids from something important that they’re supposed to be doing. For instance, when a teen is driving and is addicted to a game that sends notifications regularly, they might be tempted to check it out quickly, hence putting them at risk. It can also cause them to be less productive. Many of the games have updates throughout the day, which keeps the users engaged. So, every time they receive a notification, users open their phone with the idea of spending only a couple of minutes to make some moves quickly, and this eventually adds up to a lot of wasted hours.
A lot of studies have also shown irregular sleep patterns in children who are addicted to gaming. A survey indicates that 1 out of 5 teenagers are regularly woken by their phones. This, in turn, leads to issues with behavior and also abnormal sleepiness during the day.
Another issue that can come out of mobile games is out of control spending. Most games have a premium feature where the basic game can be played for free, but there are in-app purchases. This can become an issue if users are addicted to the game. Children may purchase a lot of things unnecessarily. There have been reports of parents whose kids accidentally purchased items on the game, and no refund option is available.
How You Can Protect Your Kids While Allowing Them to Play
Draw up a routine
Set up a routine and let your kid know that they are only allowed to play for a certain time of the day and can’t use the phone any more than that. There is parental monitoring app called TiSPY, which lets you monitor your kid’s activities. It takes screenshots at particular times of the day and lets you know what was happening on your phone at that time.
Use gaming as rewards
You can try allowing your kid to play in exchange for a good deed they’ve done that day, like helping you out or finishing their chores. However, don’t overdo it as kids might make a habit out of this and never take the initiative by themselves.
More Interesting & Amazing Features on TiSPY
This software lets you know WhatsApp are installed on your phone and how much time has been spent on them. The software also lets you block some apps. If you notice that your child is very addicted and unable to keep away from their phone, you can block those apps on the software. Since they can’t do anything but wait, the wanting eventually dies out. The live feature lets you watch what your kid is doing currently. Tispy is considered as the ideal parental control software for parents to track every single activity done in kid’s Smartphone.
Conclusion: How to take the right path
Playing games on a mobile phone can actually be beneficial and help kids, but only when it is done in a controlled manner. Kids who are good gamers are said to have better management abilities and good decision-making skills. A study showed that kids who spent less than one-hour gaming displayed higher life satisfaction, whereas kids who spent over 3 hours of gaming displayed the opposite behavior. Technology can turn out to make your kid really smart and aware if used in the right manner. However, misusing it might end up causing really critical problems. Therefore, it is important that you monitor them and ensure that they do not get too involved with it.