When we were kids, which is about 30 years ago, we used to be outdoors, playing with our friends during our free time. We would scream if we can’t get out of the house and to be grounded is something we wouldn’t want to get into. Now, it’s different. Kids prefer to spend their free time indoors. They prefer to play video games.

There are educational games that you can have fun with your children while learning. There’s the active type like Wii, but spending too much time on Video Games could be a problem.

How long do your kids play video games? Gaming consoles have replaced the television and social interaction for some kids. They are more at home in the make-believe world of the video game than with others their own age. How can you as a parent change that for your kids? The lack of social interaction with others can affect your kids.

Growing up is hard for kids even at the best of times. When you hit puberty, you feel like a stranger in your own skin. As an outlet, kids find activities that make them feel less tense. In the world of video games, they can be whoever they want to be. If they make a mistake or take a wrong turn, it can be done over as many times as they need in order to get it right. You die, you hit reset and you start all over.

The real world is not the same. Video games are a fun distraction but are not meant to replace social interaction with peers. The more time that is devoted to video games, the less time there will be to cultivate those social skills that make kids feel awkward with one another in the first place.

Watch the amount of time that your kids spend playing video games. For boys, it seems that playing video games is a way into the “inner sanctum” of camaraderie. They discuss video game graphics, strategies and scores as a way to begin a conversation and get to know each other. To them, video games are the cool thing to do.

To stop them from playing straigh away can be difficult if you never limit them before, but there are ways to do it. Slowly. Place the gaming console in the family room and not in your child’s room. Only allow it to be be accessed at certain times. This way, you can also monitor the types of video games they are playing especially when their friends bring games over.

Kids need more in their lives than video games. Talking about video games can be a conversation starter but so can other subjects like the latest fashions, the opposite sex (they are at that age) and weekend plans.

How do you know if video games are becoming a problem? Does your kid come home and head straight for the video game system? When their friends come over, would they rather play video games than go outside? Do their friends even come over?

Take stock of your child’s behavior. If they are spending too much time in the world of fast cars, monster aliens and dragons, maybe it’s time to get them to mingle with some real people. Everyone even kids need to share their lives with other people who can talk back to them. Limit video game and encourage more social interaction.

Playing video games is not a problem, but too much of it will become a problem.

Tags: friends, indoors, outdoors, Parenting, social interactions