Me: Think twice before turning that on.

Prodigal: Why do you think I should think about it?

Me: Look at what I found.

This is from the book Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids In a Screen-Driven World by Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane

A 2010 study in the journal Pediatrics, found viewing more television and playing more video games were linked to attention problems in schoolchildren and college students. Researchers found that children who exceeded two hours per day of screen time were one-and-a half to two times more likely to be above average in attention problems. College students showed a similar association, suggesting that exposure to screens has lasting consequences into adulthood.

The attention a child brings to a video games is unlike the concentration they need to succeed in regular life. A child like Keith can pay attention to a game fueled by frequent changes, constant rewards, new levels, points being racked up, and boosts of dopamine to the brain. When a child’s brain grows accustomed to that fast pace, no wonder the real world becomes underwhelming and boring.

Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. Job 15:19 (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org