Product Review

Video games are now firmly embedded in the cultural identity of America s teenagers. It is now estimated that 90 percent of our youth are playing video games. They are using handheld devices or full-fledged, Internet-based, multiplayer games. Most are nonchalant about them, enjoying them as part of the many things they do for pleasurable entertainment, integrating them into their lives without harmful effect. Others, however, have grown so dependent on these games that they are abandoning their lives to pursue this activity, which they seem to prefer above all others. Video Games & Your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control is for parents who are worried that their children may be spending too much time playing video games. Based on research and the author s clinical experience, the book explains what gaming addiction is, how much gaming is too much, and the effects gaming has on the body and brain. The authors give gaming advice on each stage of life; birth-2 years, ages 2-6, elementary school years, adolescence, and adult children still living at home. Where there is a problem, the authors provide parents with tools that will help them successfully set limits for their children.