National Post Canada: Don't Blame Video Games On Disappearance
Yet another article about Brandon Crisp the STILL MISSING boy from Canada who ran away from home after his parents took away his Xbox for playing too much Call of Duty. Now the experts and the Canadian National Post weigh in saying, don't put the blame on the video games. Check it out:
As we stated in the last news post with the help of Microsoft Canada the reward for helping to find Brandon is at $50,000
Call of Duty gamers unite and find the lost COD Boy!
Blaming video games for the woes of teens such as Brandon Crisp, who disappeared after his parents confiscated his Xbox, might be missing a bigger point, child psychologists warn. Obsessive behaviour in any form, combined with sudden shifts in habits, could indicate deeper, emotional turmoil that often eludes many parents.
Brandon, 15, vanished from his Barrie home on Thanksgiving Monday after his father, Steve, forbade him from playing with the console. Concerned that his son's grades were slipping as a result of his continuous playing of the online war game Call of Duty 4, Mr. Crisp had confiscated the Xbox, precipitating an altercation that caused Brandon to flee on his bicycle.
The disappearance has reignited an ongoing debate about the emergence of Internet addiction as a possible medical condition. Perhaps more important, the incident also raises crucial questions about how parents negotiate the tricky cross-currents of adolescent emotion without losing control over their children.
"A lot of parents aren't clear what the limits should be," noted Dr. Paul Donahue, a prominent clinical psychologist in the New York area. "When kids don't have a sense of authority, they are going to be more unsettled."
The difficulty begins, he stressed, when parents do not establish the idea of privileges when children are young.
Failing that, parents later risk that the children will see something like a video console as a right, not a privilege, and will feel aggrieved if it is withheld. Another variable is the effect of persistent use. If the child maintains good grades, attends classes and continues with a healthy social life, there is little reason to discipline them.
Dr. Lawrence Kutner, co-author of Grand Theft Childhood, stresses that video games themselves are not the root of a problem, but instead can be symptomatic of more profound issues.
"If you have a child doing anything obsessively, chances are there is something else going on," said Dr. Kutner, a Harvard psychologist who received a $1.7-million federal grant to study the relationship between children and video games. Dr. Kutner said the overwhelming majority of children who play video games do not suffer any psychological damage. If anything, he added, the consoles provide an effective means to be burn off excess adolescent energy and anxiety.
"In essence, it's a way of self-medicating," he said. "Kids play for a variety of reasons: for the fun of it, for the challenge. Or they play for emotional regulation. They can get their anger out."
Deeper problems might be detectable, however, when children are overwrought after playing. If that trend continues, parents should ask teachers if there has been any discernible changes in the child's behaviour, and if that's the case, they should seek help. Read More...
Brandon, 15, vanished from his Barrie home on Thanksgiving Monday after his father, Steve, forbade him from playing with the console. Concerned that his son's grades were slipping as a result of his continuous playing of the online war game Call of Duty 4, Mr. Crisp had confiscated the Xbox, precipitating an altercation that caused Brandon to flee on his bicycle.
The disappearance has reignited an ongoing debate about the emergence of Internet addiction as a possible medical condition. Perhaps more important, the incident also raises crucial questions about how parents negotiate the tricky cross-currents of adolescent emotion without losing control over their children.
"A lot of parents aren't clear what the limits should be," noted Dr. Paul Donahue, a prominent clinical psychologist in the New York area. "When kids don't have a sense of authority, they are going to be more unsettled."
The difficulty begins, he stressed, when parents do not establish the idea of privileges when children are young.
Failing that, parents later risk that the children will see something like a video console as a right, not a privilege, and will feel aggrieved if it is withheld. Another variable is the effect of persistent use. If the child maintains good grades, attends classes and continues with a healthy social life, there is little reason to discipline them.
Dr. Lawrence Kutner, co-author of Grand Theft Childhood, stresses that video games themselves are not the root of a problem, but instead can be symptomatic of more profound issues.
"If you have a child doing anything obsessively, chances are there is something else going on," said Dr. Kutner, a Harvard psychologist who received a $1.7-million federal grant to study the relationship between children and video games. Dr. Kutner said the overwhelming majority of children who play video games do not suffer any psychological damage. If anything, he added, the consoles provide an effective means to be burn off excess adolescent energy and anxiety.
"In essence, it's a way of self-medicating," he said. "Kids play for a variety of reasons: for the fun of it, for the challenge. Or they play for emotional regulation. They can get their anger out."
Deeper problems might be detectable, however, when children are overwrought after playing. If that trend continues, parents should ask teachers if there has been any discernible changes in the child's behaviour, and if that's the case, they should seek help. Read More...
As we stated in the last news post with the help of Microsoft Canada the reward for helping to find Brandon is at $50,000
Anyone who has seen Brandon is asked to contact the Barrie Police Department at 705-725-7025 Barrie P.D. has more about the investigation on its website.
Call of Duty gamers unite and find the lost COD Boy!
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