Children who have difficulty with impulse control and regulating emotional responses often feel a sense of calmness when playing video games. It’s as if all their troubles and worries, excessive energy, fast-moving thoughts, and sense of boredom disappear. So, we can understand why kids are drawn to video games. However, there is a lot going on behind the scenes that’s not so helpful.

Electronic Pollution: What’s happening to my brain?   

• Hormonal disturbance (melatonin, and fight or flight hormones – Amygdala)
• Neurochemical dysfunction (release and then depletion and withdrawal of dopamine – Basal Ganglia)
• Disorganization of circadian rhythms (sleep-wake cycle)
• Electromagnetic radiation due to screens, downloading, and electricity
• Movement of blood flow away from the frontal lobe and cortex, which govern executive functioning and higher order thought processes.

Excerpted from http://drdunckley.com/tag/video-games-adhd/

Typical Responses

• Time management problems
• Complaints of being “bored”
• Decreased interest in other activities
• Agitated/irritable mood when asked to stop playing
• Resistance to authority due to feeling deprived of video games
• Cravings for more video games

From Pollution to Solution: How to manage screen time

• Provide structure – keep organized and consistent time frames for use
• Screen time comes after daily tasks are accomplished
• Incorporate educational games into screen time to reduce the repetitive and over-stimulating influence of other games Increase outdoor activity
• Have a variety of engaging activities available
• Join your child in starting these activities, if he/she is having trouble getting started independently

This entry was posted on Monday, July 29th, 2013 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Meghan Moody PsyD. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.