Children Often Play Online Games, What Impact on Growth and Development?

KOMPAS.com – The Covid-19 pandemic makes children no longer play outside the house with their friends, but play game onlineeven for hours.

The habit of children playing online games will affect their growth and development?

Regarding this, Consultant Pediatrician Growth and development Social Pediatrics Pondok Indah Hospital, dr. Catharine Mayung Sambo, Sp.A (K) said that the considerations regarding whether to play game online it will be good or bad for the child, depending on the age, type and content of the game, as well as how, and for how long the game is played.

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“Children’s brain development, especially in the early years of life, gets much more benefit from stimulation that is a daily experience that is experienced or done directly,” said Dr. Catharine to Kompas.com.

According to him, in this experience, children receive various sensory inputs simultaneously, and have the opportunity to express and communicate, especially when accompanied by parents, caregivers, or friends, and relatives.

Meanwhile, when children play game onlinethe child communicates with other children but within the scope of online.

“This makes interaction with the surrounding environment much reduced and children tend to be passive or lack physical activity,” said Dr. Catharine.

Furthermore, he said, when children play games for too long, too often, or too intensely so that signs of addiction or addiction appear, there are generally signs of disturbance.

“Both disturbances in attention or cognition, as well as in terms of brain neurobiology, as well as social functions and independent activities of children’s daily life. Remember, there is still the impact of too much screen time which is also not good for children’s eye health,” he explained.

Read also: 5 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Playing Video Games

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