Video Games and Attention Problems: Cause or Cure

Video Games and Attention Problems: Cause or Cure?

A study recently published in the journal Pediatrics is getting a lot of attention (pun intended) from parents. It concludes that more than two hours per day of video-game playing increased the odds of kids having attention problems by 67%. While the study doesn’t prove that video-game playing causes difficulty concentrating, and the changes didn’t amount to an ADHD diagnosis, it wouldn’t be surprising to find that the extremely rapid movement and activity of a video game trains the brain to expect that on an ongoing basis. The article can be downloaded for free on the Pediatrics web site.

What the study didn’t report is that 30 minutes a day of playing a video game, a very specific video game  can actually improve kids attention skills and ability to concentrate. In peer-reviewed published research, BrainWare SAFARI has been shown to improve a broad range of cognitive processes, including the ability to sustain attention, to divide one’s attention, and to be flexible in one’s attention. Not only did children improve their attention skills as measured by the cognitive tests they took, both they and their parents observed differences in their everyday lives. A copy of the published research on BrainWare SAFARI is also available at no charge.

It makes sense to limit video-game screen time, and why not make some of that screen time BrainWare SAFARI time. At last, video-game time parents and kids can agree on!