Kids and Media have visited young game developers at Game Garden in the Netherlands. Read what they think the parents can do to reduce the risk of children getting too involved in the games media.

Jasper Koning and Gijs Hermans are two out of a total of five partners in the Dutch games company Ronimo Games affiliated with Dutch Game Garden in Utrecht, Netherlands. Game Garden is a public initiative that gathers and helps a long line of small companies connected with the student community in Utrecht.

"We have a couple of colleagues who don’t do much other than play games, so we know it is possible to get completely obsessed with the games media," they say.

"Parents have to choose to be involved in their children’s interest for games. Find out what they like about the game, ask what it’s about and how it’s played. It can be frustrating to see that parents say no to something they have absolutely no idea what is. For many kids and young people the social aspect of playing might be an important reason why they spend time on games. You either play together with friends who are visiting, or you have fellowship with others via the Internet if you play on a Mac or PC," the boys say.

Limits have to be set
“Parents have to dare to set limits for their children,” Hermans thinks. The earlier you’re clear about what rules around the game playing you want, the easier it is to achieve healthy habits when the child becomes a teenager, he thinks.

“Remember that children’s interests for games can go up and down over time,” says Jan-Pieter Van Seventer, the Director for Dutch Game Garden.

“When I was little there were some periods when I spent a lot of time playing, and then there could be several months when I didn’t play much at all. You should watch the game playing over time, not just focus on the daily use,” thinks Van Seventer.

Create alternatives
“If parents ask children to cut down on playing time, it’s a good time to offer other activities that can replace the time spent on games. If you want to cut down on one thing you should suggest alternatives. And the most important thing must be for parents to spend time with their kids. It’s a sad thing if children feel that their parents are not interested in them,” the two young leaders in Ronimo Games conclude.

Links:

www.dutchgamegarden.nl
www.ronimo-games.com