Games: A Problem or an Opportunity?
“When parents play together, games become the best educational tools.”

You can't just quit the game, but you can't just leave it alone.
A balanced perspective and practical solutions for parents!

‘If I leave it like this, won’t my child become addicted to games?’, ‘If I don’t let him play, I’m worried that he will become distant from his friends, but if I allow him to play, I feel like I won’t be able to control him…’.
Many parents feel confused, worried, and anxious about their children's 'games' dozens of times a day.

The author, a game addiction specialist counselor and parent education lecturer, says that games are actually a language for understanding children's honest inner feelings and desires, and are the optimal tool for helping children control their words and actions, and further restoring their relationship with their children.
This book contains the psychological insights the author has gained from counseling numerous families struggling with gaming issues.
This book provides a warm and realistic look at why children experience problems such as learning neglect due to gaming, changes in lifestyle patterns, and disconnection from their parents, and what perspectives and attitudes parents should adopt to address these issues.

If you're experiencing escalating conflicts with your child due to gaming, and want to effectively address your child's gaming issues without further emotional drain, I encourage you to open this book.
It will be the beginning of change for both parents and children.

If you've been trying to control your child's gaming for years by simply blocking them from playing games, without knowing how to properly intervene in their game-loving life, I suggest a slightly different approach.
From now on, let's play your child's favorite games together.
You can raise your children in a different way than you do now.
The way you time your games will be completely revamped.
Even if you nag your child, changes will occur in his or her speech and behavior that did not change.
You can also figure out what your child is thinking and what his or her state of mind is.
You will be able to understand your child better than before.
--- From the prologue

How about thinking of games as a window into a child's inner self? Stories about how they played, what happened with friends while playing, and what game events are planned can sound quite boring from an adult's perspective.
But the story contains everything you would want to miss: the child's interests, friendships, tendencies, behavioral patterns, and habits.
As you slowly follow the child's story, the story of a game that you thought was simple will naturally expand into a story of being unfairly criticized in a game, feeling pathetic because all of your friends are playing games, or feeling left out because your friends are playing games without you.

--- p.70

As a counselor, I may have observed children playing games with a bit more sensitivity and care, but in reality, no one can know a child better than the parents who live with them at home.
You may feel reluctant to play games with your child, but if you can break down that wall just a little, you can work from home rather than seeing a counselor occasionally.
I think parents who spend time with their children throughout the week will learn much more about their children.
--- p.190

Although they may not live up to their parents' expectations, the children are trying their best.
It may be because you put in the effort.
If you come to think that what your child is doing now is the result of effort, you will see his or her behavior differently.
If you promised to play games only on weekends and then find out that you secretly played games on weekdays, you can break your promise.
Rather than thinking of it as a loss, think of it as a child who would normally play games all week playing one more day to keep a promise with his parents.
Let's hold on like that.

--- p.262