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[V86]Video Games And Children

by Victor Epand, Vic

Many parents worry about the amount of time that their children spend playing video games, and in particular, that their children are not getting enough exercise. Well, it could well be that their worries and concerns are over, with the increasing popularity of video games and peripherals which actively encourage physical exercise.

Recently there has been an increase in demand from children and young teenagers for dance mats. These are interactive mats which have built in sensors, the idea being that the players have to move, dance, jog, jump and twist to music, accomplishing as many moves as quickly as possible, and following set dances. This puts them in direct competition with their friends, and of course, they spend a great deal of time jumping, twisting and being energetic. Some people would argue that getting exercise in this way is better for their health than going out on the streets, cycling along busy roads or going off to parks, where they meet with all sorts of risks and dangers.

In addition to dance mats, Nintendo has very recently launched a new sports peripheral, that acts as a baseboard - not dissimilar to a small surfboard. By balancing on this, a number of activities can be carried out - from basic stepping, to surfing and snowboarding, and even yoga. The massive number of incredibly sensitive sensors built into the board mean that the computer can detect the balance, pressure and movement of a player, and either replicate that using a three dimensional avatar on the screen, or provide feedback or an assessment on the level of skill, level of fitness or level of ability at a particular activity.

Again, children have a natural competitiveness in them, and this can be against themselves as much as against their friends. Often these days schools are not keen to engage children in competitive sports, and many schools have actively opted out of teaching competitive activities in the curriculum. However, children do have a natural need to try to be better, either than their past performance or against someone else - and whether that is a friend or a computer generated avatar doesn't always matter. Getting physical exercise in this way means that not only are your children getting a good dose of healthy exertion, but very often they are being taught how to improve their skills, and carry out warming exercises and techniques to help them.

Clearly computers are unlikely to replace the fresh air and benefits of going outdoors and running around on a sports field, or cycling through the countryside, but we also have to be realistic and accept that, whilst these activities might well have been possible and safe a generation or two ago, children are at far greater risk today, and so one way in which they can be helped is to use these games which provide them with fun and entertainment, as well as exercise.

As with all things - the key is striking a reasonable balance between types of exercise, and types of games.

Previous studies that have been published that clearly show how violent video games that children play can affect them in a negative manner. In fact, since the turn of the new millennium there have been several studies completed on this issue and the results have all been the same as shown in such issues as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

One such study even went into such detail as to prove that the more graphic the violence in the video games, then the higher the chance of the thoughts and behavior of the child being aggressive. This aggressive behavior was found not only to be found during game play, but it surfaced into more long-term behavior problems for the child where there was a real life impact left on relationships with others due to the aggressiveness of the child.

No matter what type of video game the child is playing, they become the main character within the game or as some psychologists refer to it as the "first person." In the majority of these video games the main character will be the aggressor and thus, the child sees the video game world through the eyes of the character and takes on their personality. Many of these children are in a pretend world of their own when ever they are playing these video games, but the problem comes when they are allowed to be so aggressive within the video games that they do not comprehend pretend and real life.

The worst effects is that the video games places weapons within the hands of the children to enlighten the impact that the character has when ever attempting to destroy his enemy. This only causes the child to become that much more emotionally involved within the video game and the character. The child begins to enjoy destroying the bad guys as the video game becomes more and more addictive to them.

Research studies have shown that as a negative result, the child begins developing behavior that is considered to be some what violent and aggressive by experts. The behavior of the child will continue to deteriorate as they begin assuming within their own little heads that others have similar thoughts as they do, which focus around violence and aggression. The studies also showed that the video games that the children were playing that were violent were a way of programming the violent behaviors within the children over and over again. The result made the aggressive behavior easier to show up in real life unexpectedly.

Other research studies have demonstrated that video games with violent content teach juveniles an unmoral disregard for the value of others, their property rights, and the lives of others as well. They teach the children to see the world as if every one is out to get me, which places them on the defensive and makes them react violent due to feeling unsafe. These addictive video games teaches the children to fight with knives and guns against others in extremely aggressive manners while receiving positive reinforcement from the game for each kill. The kills themselves are explicit with blood, gore, and mayhem such as exploding body parts that also stimulates the child's brain.

Article Source : Playstation 2 Video Game Cheats

Victor Epand has sinced written about articles on various topics from Shopping, Trucks and Interest. Victor Epand is an expert consultant about kids toys, dolls, and video games. You will find the best marketplace for kids toys, dolls, and used video games at these sites for. Victor Epand's top article generates over 11100000 views. to your Favourites.