Not just kids, firstly, we all are culprits here. We all are addicted to the screen as much as any kid. Kids generally mimic the behaviour of their parents or whomever they spend their time with. They are quick learners and according to Dr Howard Klein, the director of behavioural pediatrics at Sinai Hospital, Baltimore "A 1-year-old understands that the actions he's copying have a significance,"
So, if at the age of 6-7 he/she is inclined to play video games more than usual, it is a behavioural tendency he/she picked up while growing up. How can you stop them from engaging into video games? The answer is you can’t. You can limit their access but can’t stop them from playing video games completely.
An alternative
You need to find an alternative for them. An engagement that yields some value. Help them find a hobby. Be it reading, sketching, writing or photography. Try to participate with them in these at the initial stage to build interest and let them get involved in it. You would soon find your kid spending less time over virtual reality and be more with the family or what we call ‘live’ at present. Hobbies can evoke curiosity in children and help them learn better.
Can chess be a hobby?
The answer is yes. Chess can be termed as a great hobby for kids. Actually, it can be a hobby that can turn into a profession. However, please don’t try to impose it on your children. Kids tend to start hating things that they are forced to do. Play a game or two with them over the weekends and let them choose it willingly. Let them explore the horizons of the game. Chess also boosts creativity, confidence and concentration. The three C’s that makes chess worth being an excellent hobby for anyone. Even if your child doesn’t want to make chess a hobby, he/she can still choose to make it a leisure game, with family and friends.
Don’t do the comparison
Comparing chess and video games is kind of impossible. If you tell your kids the previous one has numerous benefits and the later don’t, they might not be able to understand or decide for themselves. All you can do, as a parent is try to spend some hours of the weekend trying to know what they love to do. It may be over a game of chess or even video game. You can make it a weekly practice, to play a game with them and that’s what would build their interest in the game and also give in time for some family bonding. We would never try to say playing video games is bad, but anything that makes a person or a kid obsessed or additive can’t be good for mental health.
If you play a game of chess, it’s a mental exercise. You learn from your mistakes, the moves of your opponent, learn to adjust and adapt to situations etc. While a video game will also teach you all this, but with negative effects of excessive attention to the screen that would affect the eyes, bring out your kids’ violent side and also do not promote family bonding.
Conclusion
At this point, your major concern shouldn’t be what bad effects does a video game have over chess. What is really worrisome is your kids might bet addicted to a thing that could hinder their growth. Mind Mentorz is an after-school mind gymnasium that helps kids widen their arena for development on a creative and critical level.