Video Games are specialise applications that come with smartphones and other screen related devices. You need a high cognitive reasoning ability to understand and successfully navigate an average video games. Video games are designed in manner requiring high level of concentration, they are mentally and physically demanding, they are subtle time eating machine and can be very addictive within a short time of regular exposure to them. Children have been found to be vulnerable and many are already addicted to games as early as 2-4 years or even less.

Parents have been known to keep children busy with phone/video games while in the church, important secular/family meetings, when busy in the kitchen, when watching their favorite TV show or talking with friends etc. Of these the most fearful is that parents use games to keep children busy while in church believing they are too small to understand preachings and church things.

Discourse

1. Why do parents who are mostly unable to understand the complexity of most video games think their young children who are mentally able to play these games are “too small” to understand proceedings during church services?
2. Many children find it hard to sit calm and concentrate during church services, but will sit more quietly as soon as they have their parents phones or iPad to play with, how can parents reverse this trend as many of such children are growing up having serious challenge concentrating during sermons but are alive and active when it’s time to dance and make “holy noise”?
3. From your personal experience with children, what should parents do to minimize children access to phone/video games and online games applications?
4. And how easy has it been, from your experience, making these little ones stay calm during church services?

• Group Admin, 3pG.

Admin Response:

If a child can navigate and play games on your phone as complex as those apps are, then he/she is well mentally capable of understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ. You need to start preaching salvation to him/her, get that child involved in gospel related events, get him/her to learn music or musical instruments, or read good story books, get that child engage in things that are profitable for the spiritual, physical and overall development before the devil get him/her engaged on your behalf. If you think that’s the school teachers job, it’s a big mistake, teachers too have their own children to cater for.

Children knows how to find games on your devices, even where there are none, they know how to download and install them, and they don’t need to be taught what to do before playing them. Hardly are parents more intelligent and more computer savvy when it come to handling electronics gadgets. No matter the age, they are always almost a step away from you and to think they are too small to understand the gospel is to kill the innate desire for God in that precious gift. Soon, a strong apathy for church and anything Jesus Christ will start to form within the child and that’s a very dangerous development.

If your child find it difficult concentrating and sitting calm during church services, then you have work to do, work only you must do in prayer and timely corrections less the devil takes an advantage of your ignorance/weakness. Church is not a play ground, it is the House of God and children must be taught to hallow and respect it. Waiting for church elders, ushers, Sunday school teachers, children church workers etc to do your job for you is to hang over your weapon in the heat of battle.

There are better and beneficial ways to keep a child busy like reading, healthy outdoor and indoor games, singing, music lessons, healthy TV programs appropriate for the situation and age (even here too, close monitoring is advice), etc other than Satan glorify games that promotes violents, sexual abuse, alcoholism, and have lately been use as a veritable tools to introduce children to gods, goddesses, demons and unbiblical myths that contend with the gentle Spirit of Christ in the hearts and minds of the children. If your child is stubborn and difficult to manage, it may not be unconnected with unnecessary exposure to these things too early in life. Watch and pray Jesus said.

We owe God and our children explanations on whatever we allow or did not allow into their lives when it is in our power to make a difference.

• Group Admin, 3pG.