Kansas City,
22
June
2018
|
09:00 AM
America/Chicago

KMBC 9: Obsessive gaming might be addiction

Dr. Ram Chettiar
"That typically involves going to school, getting your homework done, being responsible in the home and interacting with people appropriately. If video games are preventing your child from doing that, there needs to be an intervention.”
Dr. Ram Chettiar
By Kelly Eckerman

Video games are so popular and can provide hours of entertainment. But how much play is too much? And is declaring it an illness appropriate? Child and adolescent psychiatrist with Children’s Mercy Dr. Ram Chettiar says he saw it coming.

“It has been a problem for a while. This diagnosis should not surprise anyone in this field because we have seen it have negative consequences from overuse of videogames for a while," said Chettiar.

This doesn’t mean every child who spends hours in their room playing games is an addict. But Dr. Chettiar says there should be limits. Reds flags are when a gamer starts ignoring responsibilities.

“For a child, that typically involves going to school, getting your homework done, being responsible in the home and interacting with people appropriately. If video games are preventing your child from doing that, there needs to be an intervention.”

 

See the full story via KMBC 9.

Learn more about the services offered by the Division of Developmental & Behavioral Sciences at Children's Mercy.