Warning on children’s use of violent video games

Published on 04/04/2012 02:04

VIOLENT and addictive computer games are making children more aggressive and luring youngsters into a fantasy world, an education expert has warned.

Pupils as young as four and five are acting out graphic scenes of violence in the playground and lashing out in the classroom after watching or playing inappropriate games, according to Alison Sherratt, junior vice-president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

She warned that the addictive quality of video games can separate children from reality and leave many at risk of social exclusion, obesity and living sedentary, solitary lives.

Many youngsters are watching material unsupervised that is inappropriate for their age, she added.

Ms Sherratt is due to propose a motion to ATL’s annual conference in Manchester, raising concerns that some computer games have a negative effect on very young children. In her speech, Ms Sherratt is expected to tell delegates that she was inspired to put forward the resolution after watching her class in the playground “throwing themselves out of the window of the play car… and acting out blood spurting from their bodies”.

Ms Sherratt says that there has been a “marked increase” in aggression over the past few years: “We all expect to see rough and tumble, but I have seen little ones acting out quite graphic scenes in the playground and there is a lot more hitting, hurting, thumping, etc, in the classroom for no particular reason.”