A set of slides talking about games and primary aged children. Screen Time, Positives, Negatives, Tips and Advice.

1. Parenting, games and screens

2. Talking points
• How did we get here?
• The positives and negatives of gaming.
• Some practical tips on how to better manage your
child’s gaming devices.
• Tips on how to better manage the gaming environment
within your home.
• Resources to help you to connect with your child in
relation to gaming.

3. You don’t know games.
• Games have a complex social history.
• Online is a BIG place.
• Adults do not share the same online
‘culture’ space as your children.
• Children are experts at masking their
activity and don’t recognise
boundaries - they want to play.
• Children see online play as a valid
part of their leisure time.
• Adults have eroded the amount of
child-directed and self organised play
over the last ten years.

4. How did we get here?

5. Post War Consumer
Society
• A postwar boom in technology sped the transportation of
goods - the consumer could now buy more things with less
effort - malls, catalogues, TV, print … web … phone.
• Technology has increasingly impacted consumerism.
Computers designed to help astronauts fly to the moon in
the 1960s became the basis for the first handheld
calculators of the 1970s … and now …
• The shift from a producer-oriented culture to post war
consumerism in was gradual. With the marked exception of
the depression and World War II, consumerism in the
twentieth century is an evolving way of life.

6. Shopping Malls: Places of
entertainment (food, drinks,
hanging out, socialising)
Driven by media advertising
and SOCIAL media posts.

7. We take our entertainment devices
to places which are essentially also
about entertainment - not shopping.
Are we entertaining
ourselves to death?

8. Children are
sites of
consumption
Children are deliberately
targeted by advertising.
Children are unaware of the
messages and meanings.
Children spread the message
to others with errors.

9. The positives and
negatives of gaming.

10. Pinballs were seen as
Gambling devices. Banned,
or smashed up.
Association = Crime &
Deviance, Social Decay
Flippers were added to
make pinball games a
game of SKILL, thus
avoiding the game of
change problem
1930s
1970s

11. Video games were not designed for children.
Game’s were part of adult leisure time in public space.

12. Video games presented
a challenge to retailers.
So much so, arcade owners
were charged licence fees
as to try and stop their
popularity.
In 1987, arcades and games
in them made more money
than movies and television.
AU$20billion and were
popular with adults and
children alike.
Why do we believe games are evil?

13. Games are misunderstood
• A 50 year tradition of trying to connect video games and
players with anti-social behaviour, crime and addiction.
• Games have eroded ‘traditional’ revenue: television, film,
music, retail leisure, consumer purchasing.
• Games are bigger than film, TV, radio, print and music
combined - they did that by 1989.
• Games have always challenged ‘the media’ due to their
DESIGN. They create interactive experiences, worlds and
communities which are enjoyable, satisfying and
competitive - for adults and children.

14. And then - in the 80s, arcades closed and the games
moved into your house - and never left.
What is the
message being
presented here?

15. Who’s playing?
• The average age of a gamer is 32 years old
• 76% of all gamers are over 18 years of age
• Gamers in their 40s and 50s make up the largest group of new gamers in
the last two years (not young children)
• 26% of gamers play on tablets
• 47% of gamers play on smartphones
• 63% of households use a console
• 90% of gaming households own three or more screens
• 98% of Australians play some form of game (mobile, console, pc, tablet)

16. What do parents believe?
• Research says: Australian parents see games as
having potentially good and bad impacts on children.
Parents are not as ‘scared’ of games and screens as
Americans. Many kids get smartphones in Year 6.
• Research says: There is very little research (almost
nil) into children under 13 in the family context
• Research says: Parents use strategies applied to TV
watching with initial success, which they feel fades as
children get older (10-11).

17. • Cognitive skills like problem solving, strategy
development, decision making
• Emotional skills and can be a vehicle for self-
expression
• Manual skills like reading and hand-eye
coordination skills
• Social skills by connecting and playing with friends
Good Games.

18. • Hand-eye coordination skills, as well as vision and
speed skills
• Reading skills
• Children playing any type of video game show
increased creativity
• Video games can teach time management, as the
timing of a move is crucial in video games
• Pattern recognition, social cues …
Good Games.

19. Top 4 Media Panics
• Excessive gaming/Gaming Disorder/Gaming
Addiction (Clinical Psychology). Highly debated.
• Gambling (no evidence in young children)
• Violence and other inappropriate content
(contextual, guided by ratings system)
• Cyber-safety issues (almost no research in young
children) to suggest gamers are more at risk.

20. • Unlike substance abuse or gambling, video game
addiction is not a formally recognised addiction.
• A number of young people play games so frequently
that it clearly has a negative impact on their lives. With
symptoms and impact comparable to addiction, it is
important to be aware of the risk of video gaming.
• Several studies have been undertaken to determine
the percentage of gamers that end up playing
excessively. Results ranging from 5 to 15% of
gamers play at a frequency that leads to a negative
impact on their life.
A pinch of salt.

21. • Is it 10 hours per week, 20 hours, or more?
• It is impossible to put a figure on this!
• Excessive gaming has similar symptoms to addiction: it
becomes completely absorbing for players, often used
as a coping strategy. However: this is based on
excessive TV watching research - not gaming research.
• Players’ tolerance to the game increases therefore
more time is spent playing to get the same effect on their
mood. Players often experience withdrawal symptoms
when trying to quit gaming and can relapse.
A pinch of salt.

23. Is online play bad?
• Video games provide a social connection between
players. For many, ‘team’ games are a valid and
important way to hang out (Year 4 onwards).
• By using headsets and chat-services gamers connect,
talk to each other, and make new friends- however most
preference IRL friends and are wary of strangers.
• The game is the playground. They know how to leave.
• Rules are set for the game but not for the interactions
that players have with each other.

25. Game Management
• So, what steps can we take to ensure that your
child’s gaming experience remains a positive one?
• Start by trying to manage the actual game and the
device it is played on.
• Primary 2 hours a day maximum (AU Gov)
• Under 5s - 0 - 1 hour a day (AU Gov)

26. Avoid “my” culture
My Internet, My phone, My iPad, My Game.

27. Game Management
• Schedule play: make it routine, make it visible, make it
non-negotiable.
• Use your router: All routers have ‘parental controls’ to
set the time devices are allowed online
• Use your device: All devices have ‘parental controls’ to
set the type of material allowed
• Use the Internet: Actually read government and
industry advice. Avoid ‘parenting’ sites as they are
usually opinion driven, conflicting and incorrect.

28. Make play social
• Video games can be used as an escape from the real world.
Young people who immerse themselves in this ‘fantasy’ world
will feel for a moment that the real world doesn’t exist.
• Video games are becoming more and more realistic and
their incredible graphics and immersive capability are part of
the attraction. Trying on identities, experiences - without loss.
• Make sure that the video game remains an integral part of
the real world and not seen as an alternative. Make them
aware that it is not possible for them to live their entire life in
this fantasy world.

29. Do games make kids …
• Myth: Violent video games make kids violent.
• Research says: Heavy exposure to violent media
can be a risk factor for violent behavior, according
to some -- but not all -- studies.
• Children who are exposed to multiple risk factors --
including substance abuse, aggression, and conflict
at home -- and who consume violent media are
more likely to behave aggressively.

30. Do games make kids …
• Panic: Kids don't know how to have face-to-face conversations
anymore.
• Research says: Studies on this topic haven't focused on kids
yet, but that data is surely on the horizon.
• What we know says that many older adults think devices harm
conversations, but younger adults aren't as bothered.
• A couple studies have also found that the absence of devices
can inspire emotional awareness.
• What that means about the ability to have a conversation is
unclear.

31. Do games make kids …
• Television is a powerful influence in the lives of most
children.
• On average, children spend almost as much time per
week watching television ( 25 hours) as they spend in
school.
• Children's television-viewing habits have been reported
to be associated with a variety of significant behavioral
consequences, including obesity and poor eating habits,
decreased physical activity and physical fitness, and
impaired school performance.

32. Do games make kids …
• Research says: Parents are more concerned about
television content and time than they are about
video game play.
• Research says: Video games were seen as
complementary to television viewing in the 80s and
90s. Now they are seen a competition with it.
• Research says: No correlation between television
viewing and video game playing.

33. Parent Mediation
What do we know, what can we do?

34. Parent Challenges
• Avoid binge watching series in Netflix
• Model phone use. Don’t watch TV and tap your
phone.
• Turn off the TV and put the phone away unless you
actually need it to do something important
• Learn the language of games, play them and take a
genuine interest in their culture and stories.

35. Parent Tips
• Both parents need to be on
the same page. When parents
are not, kids exploit this and
yelling begins.
• Give 2 x 10 minute warnings
for putting down the device or
exiting the game. Never yank
the modem and yell at them.
• Only ban for a few hours.
Days and weeks have no
effect on behaviour or choices
in the future.

36. Parent Tips
• Pre-arrange ‘game time’ on a visible schedule. Balance this with
other activities. Research shows kids actually do want to do other
things - but parents don’t create quality time.
• Logging-out is not as fun as playing in worlds where you have the
kind of power your parents do.
• If you’re child has been ‘free ranging’ for a while, don’t expect over
night success. Introduce house-rules over a period of time.
• Don’t enter into skirmishing. Tell you to come back in 10 mins as
you are busy. Mostly, they forget and do something else.

37. Useful Links

38. • http://www.digitalnutrition.com.au/

39. www.checkpoint.org.au

40. ABC SPLASH

41. commonsensemedia.org (American)

42. https://www.esafety.gov.au/