ids love their video games, but when does time spent in front of a video game become potentially harmful to your child? While the American Pediatric Association recommends no more than two hours a day in front of a screen for children over two years of age – be it television or computer – it might surprise you that the average child spends up to 20 hours a week.

Emotional impact
What drives a child to become addicted to video gaming? It was thought that a depressed child might play video games as a way of coping with those feelings. A recent study in the Journal of Pediatrics tells us the opposite could be true. Of 3,000 children studied from third, fourth, 7th and 8th grades, researchers found that in kids who started gaming excessively, depression and anxiety got worse. When they stopped, depression improved.

Pathological gaming shares a lot of features with other known addictions, but presently isn’t considered a psychological disorder. While excessive gaming is a risk factor for addiction, other risks include lower social competence, less than average empathy, greater impulsivity and more trouble fitting in with peers. School performance may also decline. Playing video games as much as 30 hours a week contributed to the addiction; the study indicated that gaming preceded the depression rather than depression driving the child to game. It also revealed that gaming is not a passing phase; over a two year period those who became excessive gamers remained so.