You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers has called for new laws to deal with the “negative effects some computer games are having on the very young”.
As reported by The Guardian, the ATL’s annual conference saw teachers demanding “stringent legislation” following the discussion of a number of issues surrounding the effects of games on children.
One of the chief concerns is that pupils are coming to school exhausted after staying up all night playing games, the worry being that this will impact on their speaking and listening skills.
“Obesity, social exclusion, loneliness, physical fitness, sedentary solitary lives – these are all descriptions of children who are already hooked to games,” said Alison Sherratt, a teacher at Riddlesden St Mary’s Church of England primary school in Keighley, West Yorkshire. “Sadly there is a notable correlation between the children who admit to playing games and those who come to school really tired.”
Sheratt added her four and five-year-old students like to “throw themselves out of the window of the play car in slow motion” while pretending that blood is “spurting from their bodies”. She believes that games are influencing this behaviour.
“We all expect to see rough and tumble, but I have seen little ones acting out quite graphic scenes in the playground and there is a lot more hitting, hurting and thumping in the classroom for no particular reason.”
Naturally, most gamers will argue that it’s the responsibility of parents to monitor what their kids are playing, and how often. It seems that the ATL agrees:
“The watershed tends to work quite well, but with online TV and video children and young people are probably watching inappropriate content over a range of media,” said Mary Bousted, general secretary of the association.
“It’s about reminding parents and carers that they have a very real responsibility for their children and that schools can’t do it alone.”
The ATL conference also referred to medical evidence suggesting that children who play games are more likely to suffer from seizures and tendinitis, and may be more aggressive. The Guardian report doesn’t give exact citations for these claims, however.
About the Author
