Gamertell

The UK is all set to revamp the videogame rating system according to the recommendations made by Dr. Tanya Byron, who is heading a review into the ill effects of games and the internet in the U.K. Byron told Next-Gen that the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has assured her that the government will adopt her recommendations in full.

Byron also talked about the appreciation her report has drawn from British parents but her suggestions might be…

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Dr. Tanya Byron, a clinical psychologist, who is heading an independent review into the ill effects of games and internet on kids, published a report on Thursday (March 27, 2008). In the report titled “Safer Children in a Digital World” she has made several recommendations regarding children’s safety in cyberspace and ways to keep them away from adult content.

She has recommended greater cohesion between the UK government, game industry and parents, and also prescribed a greater role for the British Board of Film Classification in assigning ratings to the game. She wants BBFC to assign rating to all games 12 and above…

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There have been scores of surveys and studies prejudicially elucidating the cons of video gaming in recent times. But like every other form of entertainment even video gaming has its pros which are incontrovertible. According to a report on The Evening Sun, a new research has found that video games can help the development of mental ability among kids that will be of great use during their adolescence, given that they don’t over indulge in gaming.

The study took stock of about 2,000 business professionals and found that those who grew up gaming had very different attitudes as compared to…

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A couple in Canada have found an interesting way of controlling their children’s time playing video games. They use a unique system where when the children do things such as read, practice music, or exercise they are rewarded with time to play video games.

Initially Dave and Lina Caputo of Waterloo decided that they would avoid the issues associated with the potentially detrimental effects of playing video games for long periods of time by restricting gameplay all together. They had resolved to disallow a gaming system in their home.

However, an Uncle who wasn’t aware of the parental restriction bought the two boys an Xbox one year as a gift. The Caputos, not wanting to deny the children a gift from their Uncle, decided to keep the gaming system, but devised an interesting set of rules on the use of the device.

They decided that play time of the Xbox would be treated as a reward for spending time in other activities. For example if the boys spent 30 minutes reading or doing chores they could play video games for the 30 minutes. This one to one ratio reward system also applied to other activities such as playing sports and exercising, and the ratio was doubled for other activities like playing guitar. For every minute of practicing music they children could play video games for two minutes.

Wow, is this a good idea or what? Sometimes the most effective things can be so simple! And the parents have found that this technique has made the boys more well rounded individuals. Not only are they experts at Fusion Frenzy and various sport games, but they are avid readers, good chess players, and excellent athlete.

I wonder when the Caputos will be writing their book. I know a number of parents who would be interested in reading it.

Read [The Record]