Too much gaming may harm parent-child bond

Parents might be alienating their kids by allowing them to play computer games for too long, according to a leading author.

Bernadette Tynan, a former child development academic, insists that the solitary nature of the games might have an adverse impact on parent-child bond, which is believed to be key to development.

"Parents are right to be concerned about online products as some do tend to focus on solitary time and do little to help build parent-child relationships,” the Scotsman quoted Tynan as saying.

"We know from child development and neuroscience that building good communication between parent and child provides benefits on a number of levels in brain terms for children,” she added.

The study showed that 96 per cent of children played computer games, and 65 per cent used mobile phones to play games.

Moreover, UK kids spend twice as much time on the Internet as thought by their parents, at 43.5 hours a month. (ANI)