How long is enough for a teenager to play video games?

I am just finish studying recently and I do find that video games is very addictive. It is best if you only let them to play maximum 2 hours per day. It is important for kids that age to play and if you ban them from playing they might act out . If your kid ask for more time to play , try to bargain with them . Only agree to it if he show good result on exam. There are study show that video games and TV can cause children to have short attention span , so it is best if you don't expose them for long period of time. the reason why kid play games is because they have too much time , ask him to join "mylot" and he can earn fews cent for every quality post that he post. In mylot here, user can improved they writing and english not to mention learn something from the quality discussion.

It's too long, when that is all they want to do and won't leave them. So, perhaps an hour or two would be fair.

You obviously don't see anything wrong with it, so why are you asking. Kids should only be allowed video games between homework and bed time or at the most 4 hours a day.

I have a 16 year old who loves to play video games as well but I moderate how long he spends doing that verses other things in his life. My son is very active in sports and music so he gets plenty of exercise and spends alot of time doing things outside of the home. I allow him to play his PS2 for about 1 hour in the evening when he has time and has finished his homework and chores. On the weekends he might spend a little more time playing in the morning or late in the evening - which I do not mind. Personally, I think as long as he is doing his homework, staying up on his grades, going out and getting some form of exercise every day (I encourage you to get him into a sport - it's really good for them in so many ways), does his chores and has some sort of a social life - then there isn't any harm in allowing them to play their video games a little each day. I also do not put too much concern in the types of games he's playing. As long as you are involved in your teens life and talk to them on a regular basis and they are healthy intelligent people then there really isn't any harm in them playing most of the games available. My son knows that just because his Army guy is shooting someone in the game doesn't make it o.k. for him to kill someone. Just because he is speeding his car in the video game doesn't mean he can speed in real life. I think the problems come when parents just give their kids a PS2 (or whatever) and do not interact with their kids at all. Good luck to you and please think about getting your son involved in some kind of sport. They learn so much from being a part of a team - they get exercise and they make friends with people who share their interests. My son plays football, wrestles and is on the track team for his high school. All of them were the best choices he could have made for himself. His grades have improved 100% as well. He's now getting all A's & B's because he knows he has to keep them up to play his sports. Take Care!

I can understand what you are saying about the video games. My boys are 13 and 14 and sometimes I think they would stay on the games all day and night if I would let them. I do think that we have to set some limits though. I try to limit them to a couple of hours each, but even then, they spend the other couple of hours watching the other one play. It is not too bad though as long as they get their homework and chores done first, and make sure that they are in bed on time. They know that if they spend too long on the games then they will miss TV time, movie time, or any other free time they would have had for other things. The only thing I will not take away is family time.

on average about an hour a day but hawever it willvary from day to day if he attends school you should take his game console of him and make him study and return it 2 him on weekends!!

Well, it really depends on what he's playing. Some video games are violent and mindless and don't teach him how to do anything besides press a button over and over, while others are more in depth and can actually be good to play. Adventure and RPG games (Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, and others, mostly by Nintendo) are fun but also contain one puzzle after another and can help teach problem solving. These are good for learning how to think on your feet and really engage a child's brain. Other games, like platformers and more "run and go" games are good for reflexes and quick-thinking also. If your concern is that he's not getting enough exercise, maybe see if he's interested in getting a Nintendo Wii. The Wii games respond to motion and you actually have to move your hands and arms while you play. I was sore for three days just playing tennis on it, because I didn't know how much of a workout it would be to move my arms like that for two hours! Also, a lot of kids are very competitive with games. They like to compare how far they got and what levels they're at and so on, and if all of the kids your son compares his experiences to are able to play for much longer than he is, he'll feel like he can never really be competitive and he may feel very frustrated by this.

I think anything up to two hours is long is enough for a teenager to play video games. Mine just don't have that kind of time, anyhow, but if they were allowed, when they do have the time, they would play them around the clock. They wouldn't eat, bathe, use the toilet or sleep. They go through stages of being really obsessed with certain games, and levels and cheats and it is just best to cut them off at the pass!