Striking the Right Balance: Introducing Video Games at the Right Age
In today's world, parental concerns about the digital space for young children have taken center stage. Experts insist that the optimal time for a child's first contact with video games should be strictly regulated to avoid harming the child’s psyche. Very young children, especially those around three years old, need minimal exposure—only a few minutes in front of a screen—because their primary need lies in live communication and direct experience of the surrounding world. Real interaction with peers, creative development, and direct perception of their environment contribute to the full growth of an individual's personality until adolescence. Thus, making a reasonable choice about when to introduce video games will not only help avoid negative impacts but also ensure the harmonious development of the child when they are already capable of critically processing information and socializing in society.
How can we determine the optimal age for children to start playing video games?When it comes to deciding when to introduce children to video games, experts emphasize that too early and uncontrolled exposure can have negative consequences on a child’s psyche. According to one specialist, “There is a completely false notion that the sooner we introduce a child to computers, the better. I read in a newspaper how one mother asked a psychologist whether a three-year-old could play on a computer. The psychologist replied that it is possible, but no more than fifteen minutes. This is a three-year-old! In schools, computer studies typically begin in the ninth–tenth grade. Before that, there is no point in introducing a teenager to a computer.” (source: link txt). This quote suggests that for very young children—for example, at the age of three—even minimal game time should be strictly limited, while the majority of time for socialization and development should be devoted to live communication and learning.Furthermore, another expert notes that “live human games and interaction with peers at the ages of 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, and 12 are far more important for the formation of personality, the maturation of the soul, and the perception of the surrounding world than computers. A computer in a child's life up to the age of 12 should occupy no more space than a ruler, a simple pencil, an eraser, and a protractor, all taken together.” (source: link txt). This emphasizes that until the age of 12, the primary focus should be on developing communication skills, creative growth, and learning about the world, rather than immersing in a virtual environment.Thus, determining the optimal age to start playing video games should be based on the psychological and social readiness of the child. Early, minimal exposure (for example, no more than 15 minutes for very young children) may be acceptable, but full use of computers and active participation in video games as a part of development is recommended to be postponed until the teenage years, when the child has begun forming the ability to critically process information and socialize effectively.