Preschoolers and Computer Game Use

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no more than 1 to 2 hours per day of educational, nonviolent programs. Many parents take this suggested time limit when deciding how many hours of screen time in total their children should have, including time spent playing electronic games. That number, however, can seem very high when referring it to children as young as preschoolers.

Most parents know that it is nearly impossible to keep a child that young focused on one thing for half an hour, and yet when it comes to video and computer games preschoolers can get as sucked in as older children. Preschoolers are generally very much in the physical realm of their development.

Activities that encourage moving are considered more appropriate for young children than games that involve little to no movement. Video games and computer games fall into this areas as they are mostly played sitting still. While some do encourage moving, such as theWii system, this is still no substitute to real play.

Dancing, climbing, jumping, and running are the best things for preschoolers to be doing. While some games can be educational tools for young children they should not replace the real learning that can happen when your preschoolers gets up and does something.

Limiting game use and making an effort to counter any time spent sitting with time spent in active play are good rules to follow when considering how much time your preschooler should spend playing video and computer games. As with all other things, moderation is key.