Tagged With "Canadian Centre for Child Protection"
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Blog: Parenting Through Video Game Disorder
A newly released blog on Learn.ProblemGambling.ca highlights some of the challenges of parenting a child with problem video gaming. The blog was contributed by Elaine Uskoski, a holistic health social service worker and author of the book Seeing Through the Cracks . She discusses the experience of finding out her 19-year old son has a video game disorder and how they worked together to get him to where he is today. Read her blog here .
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Research on Parent-Child "Technoference"
A recent research article published in the journal Pediatric Research looks at the effects of "technoference" (defined as digital/mobile technology use that interrupts interpersonal relationships) in a parent-child relationship. Here are some interesting findings from the study that looked at technoference in 183 couples & their children over a 6-month period: 55.5% of mothers and 43.0% of fathers reported having two or more technology devices that interrupt activities with their child...
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Gambling, Gaming, and Technology Use Knowledge Exchange
An interesting look at writer, Ian Bogost's thoughts on Gaming Disorder. Clearly, he has not had first hand experience with a gaming addict when he argues that "games don't provoke physical reactions like tolerance and withdrawal the way narcotics do." I would suggest that he spend time in a room with a child who has visible tremors, brain exhaustion, and erratic and sometimes violent reactive behavior when withdrawing from gaming. What are your thoughts on his idea that a "Behavioral...
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Gambling, Gaming, and Technology Use Knowledge Exchange
I want to share a blog I wrote not long before the WHO made their announcement about Video Gaming Disorder being recognized as an official disorder. I first wrote and published a book about the transition between parenting your child and your adult child, as I found those years more challenging. Included in my story was part of the journey of my adult son's crisis through video gaming addiction. An organizer of Mindfest read the book and asked me to speak about Video Gaming Addiction. I...
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Gambling, Gaming, and Technology Use Knowledge Exchange
This article just came across in my emails today and I thought I'd share it. Dr Dunkerley has done some great work in her study of screen addiction. http://www.lovewhatmatters.com...oody-crazy-and-lazy/ Elaine Uskoski Author – Speaker – Holistic Practitioner ElaineUskoski.com 226-337-2070 Is video gaming controlling your child? 2017 Watty’s Award Winning Author of Seeing Through the Cracks
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RCMP Youth Trends Report Fall 2018
This was forwarded to me, via email, and i am passing it along. There is a lot of great information to help us understand our youth and technology better.
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Fortnite, Minecraft chat part of an online sting
Fortnite, Minecraft used as a means to lure youth New Jersey police conducted a sting of adults talking to youth gamers and arrested 24 men. The men were arreseted after contacting what they thought were 14 and 15 year old youths, chatting with them and then arranging to meet them in real life for sex. To me, this really speaks to the need for education and awareness on the part of both the youth gaming, as well as the parents. Some much younger kids than 14 also play these games, especially...
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Cashing in on Mental Health?
Interesting article from the CBC yesterday on problem gambling in BC. It's sobering to hear about the pitfalls other provinces face with respect to problem gambling prevention, protection and supports. The former Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario is referenced in here along with other Canadian sources, around the evidence supporting problem gambling. Take a read if you have a chance.
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Parents should worry less about screen time, says UK doctors
I was in England over the Christmas break and the topic of screen time for children came up, which caught my attention for both personal and work reasons. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health says parents should take a balanced approach to screen time and that it cannot be prescriptive. This is different from Canadian guidance which recommends no screen time for children under 2 and only one hour a day for children 2-4 years old. You can read the full article here.
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And the debate continues: Study links excessive screen time to developmental delays in children
This Canadian Study found that "one in four Canadian children are not developmentally ready for school by the time they start kindergarten, and that excessive screen time may be a key contributor". The study found that children were watching television or using digital devices for an average of 2.4 hours a day at age two, 3.6 hours at age three, and 1.6 hours at age five. The article references back to a statement (posted here earlier) released by Britain’s Royal College of Paediatrics and...
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Class management software used in 70% of elementary schools raises concerns about children’s rights
ClassDojo is a system for smartphone and desktop that allows teachers and parents to quickly share information, including homework assignments and pictures and video from school. ClassDojo is used in 70 per cent of Canadian elementary schools, according to numbers obtained from the California-based company. “ClassDojo has helped demystify what we do in class,” said Alexandra Blais, a Grade 1 teacher at École Jules-Verne in Montreal North. Blais uses ClassDojo’s “class story” feature to open...
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Too much screen time for the kids? Grandparents may also be complicit
Grandparents have long been associated with letting their grandchildren do things their parents would never permit. Candy. Extended bedtime. Too much television. Carefree fun. They like to spoil their grandchildren. A new study by Rutgers and other researchers finds that today's grandparents are still true to their traditional fun-loving image -- allowing their grandchildren, while under their supervision, to spend about half of their time on a mobile phone, tablet, computer or TV. The study...
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Panicking About Your Kids Phones? New Research Says Don’t
A growing number of academics are challenging assumptions about the negative effects of social media and smartphones on children. SAN FRANCISCO — It has become common wisdom that too much time spent on smartphones and social media is responsible for a recent spike in anxiety, depression and other mental health problems, especially among teenagers. But a growing number of academic researchers have produced studies that suggest the common wisdom is wrong. The latest research, published on...
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Re: How mental illness is discussed on the internet
Alison, That is a horrific image that was posted on FB. I can't believe that nothing was done even after you notified FB. It's interesting that those platforms (ie FB and IG) will remove and mark as inappropriate a picture of a woman breast feeding her child but not what you reported. I was listening to a podcast where people who have diagnosed OCD talked about their experiences, shared parts of their daily lives that have been impacted by their OCD and talked about how hurtful it is when...
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Re: Cashing in on Mental Health?
This is a good article! Thanks Howie. CAMH has also advocated for closing hours and to not allow casinos to stay open for 24 hours. We have some other policy statements available here: https://learn.problemgambling.ca/policy
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Re: Gaming and gambling
Interesting research! The Australian Government is currently conducting a commission into loot-boxes (microtransactions for chance based items). You can read a number of interesting submissions (including my own ) on the topic. The Australian Government has also reached out to the Netherlands to clarify why they regulated lootboxes in games. Their response states: The Senate report is actually due today, but I haven't seen it yet. I've done quite a bit of work in this space. To those...
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Re: The first long-term study on how screen time affects children's brains
I was just about to say that Aaron! Content matters! This has been an ongoing debate and I'm afraid I'm on the pro-screen time. I find these studies skewed... "If you give a child an app where they play with virtual Legos, virtual blocks, and stack them, and then put real blocks in front of them, they start all over," Why would you test block-building capacity and say this skill isn't transferable when using real blocks? Seems pretty obvious. I'm sure if you tested for non gross motor skills...
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Re: "An age-by-age guide to kids and smartphones"
Thanks for sharing, Matt! I think this article provides a lot of great discussion points and things to consider. As mentioned in the article, guidelines from the Canadian Paediatric Society and American Academy of Pediatrics suggest limiting recreational screen time for youth to minimize the risk of future problem technology use but I think this is just a starting point. Risk factors such as a child's developmental stage, any existing mental health problems and even what the child is doing...
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Re: "An age-by-age guide to kids and smartphones"
Thanks for posting Matthew. If this kind of information was available sooner, I would not have been dealing with a child with screen addiction issues. I got caught completely unaware, as a parent. It's so important that we educate parents and share our experiences, so that the damage is reduced and children can manage technology at a later, emotionally mature age.
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Re: Gambling, Gaming, and Technology Use Knowledge Exchange
Thank you for posting this article, Elaine! I think it is relevant food for thought for both parents and professionals. I especially like that she talks about the importance of ruling out and addressing electronics in mental health assessments. In the article, Dr. Dunkerley also says, “ Time and again, I’ve realized that regardless of whether there exists any “true” underlying diagnoses, successfully treating a child with mood dysregulation today requires methodically eliminating all...
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Re: Can anyone suggest an gambling clinical practice guide, that incorporates "cultural competency" on the idea of "lucky?"
Hello Bill, Please find the attached document, "A Guide for Counsellors Working with Problem Gambling Clients from Ethno-cultural Communities." On page 16 there is content related to your question. Best, Lisa
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Re: Research on Parent-Child "Technoference"
Thanks for sharing the informative video, Elaine, and thanks Rebecca for your insightful questions. I think the current research article is scratching the surface and that more research and clinical evidence is needed on technoference and the long-term consequences on the parent-child relationship, the parent and the youth. As the article and Sarah pointed out (thank you!), it is likely a bi-directional relationship with many complex factors to consider. But this article does provide a great...
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Re: Cell Phones in Classrooms
Thanks for the suggestion of the video Elaine! She had some interesting facts and stats. I found her graphs about prevalence of anxiety and the 50% saturation of smartphone use eye opening. Colleeen's point, of parents wanting to be able to get a hold of their children anytime necessary and of chidlren as young as grade 2 or 3 getting phones is also interesting. I wonder if GenX'ers are passing their anxiety down to their children and that is getting transmitted via the need to be in...
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Re: Parents should worry less about screen time, says UK doctors
Interestingly, the majority of their sample was related to watching TV, not playing games / cellphones / computers. I think this is a serious limitation of this research, as there are many significant differences in terms of interactivity, reward expectation, and level of stimulation between watching TV and playing online games, for example. As a psychiatrist, I will point out this limitation to my clients and continue to follow Canadian guidelines.
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Re: And the debate continues: Study links excessive screen time to developmental delays in children
The article notes that "these tests included measures of their communication skills (for instance, forming full sentences), gross motor skills (running and walking), fine motor skills (tying shoelaces or copying letters), as well as problem-solving, and personal and social skills (serving themselves food)." While screen time may enhance communication, I can see where screen time could delay gross and fine motor skills (watching a screen does not teach a child how to run, jump or squat, cut...
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Re: Are "Free" Video Games Really Free?
Great video. Thanks for sharing. Also, to note is that gamers are purchasing Skins (virtual goods) within a game, believing they enhance their online social status (they believe those who have attained many of these Skins must be better players) when they have no direct influence on the outcome of their game play. In terms of reducing or avoiding financial disaster, besides never giving a child their credit card, parents can help a child create a budget and use the child's earned or gifted...
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Re: CTV interview Should addiction to video games be considered a disease?
This is an article that features the concerns some scholars have about gaming being included in the ICD-11: "Scholars' open debate paper on the World Health Organization ICD-11 Gaming Disorder proposal"
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Re: Research on Parent-Child "Technoference"
Thanks Tiffany - I think the bi-directional nature of the relationship between parent technology use and child behavioural problems is an important consideration. Parents with children with behavioural problems would likely benefit from understanding, support and opportunities to learn positive coping skills for their own high stress levels.
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Re: Research on Parent-Child "Technoference"
Hi Tiffany, this is fascinating. Thank for posting! Can you elaborate briefly on what they meant by devices "that interrupt activities with their child on a daily basis." How can a device 'interrupt' an activity, particularly an interpersonal activity? Even a quick example would be great. Thanks!
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Re: Research on Parent-Child "Technoference"
Thanks for your question, Sylvia. According to the authors, the term technoference was coined by McDaniel and Coyne (2016) and refers to interruptions in interpersonal interactions or time spent together due to technology. This can include sending texts or emails, checking your phone or social media, and even picking up a phone call or answering a text during a conversation with your child (although this is not limited just to the parent-child relationship but to other relationships in your...
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Re: Research on Parent-Child "Technoference"
This is such important information for parents to understand in terms of interpersonal development with their young children. Although much of my Video Gaming Disorder Talk covers gaming teens and young adults, its important for parents to realize how their own behaviour with texting, emails and social media may be a contributing factor in the outbursts and tantrums they are seeing when removing gaming devices or reducing the hours their child spends gaming. Here's a good video clip with...
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Assessing gaming disorder: Expert opinions
Gaming disorder can be difficult to assess, as there are concerns about over pathologizing normal or potentially healthy behaviours. A new study surveyed 29 international experts until consensus was reached about useful criteria for assessing gaming disorder. This study helps clinicians with creating their own assessments to ensure they're looking at the most relevant features in their assessment to target as well as ensure they're not problematizing less relevant features. An interesting...
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Mindfulness and problem gambling treatment.
A few years ago, problem gambling clinicians in Ontario began introducing mindfulness groups to clients as they felt that they could benefit from cultivating greater awareness of their thoughts and emotions while detaching from and not giving in to them. This practise is particularly relevant to people with gambling problems who tend to hold incorrect or erroneous beliefs about the nature of random chance (Toneatto et al., 1997; Turner, 2006) and engage in automatic thinking before, during...
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CTV W5 Segment on Video Gaming Addiction
For those who may have missed it, here's the CTV W5 documentary on Video Gaming Addiction which features my son's journey. https://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/six-ways-to-tell-if-your-child-is-addicted-to-video-games-1.5320645?fbclid=IwAR0lM3p3pYf9i_xksLohdkfAaO6fC0tJ3Z_Dsm0gd_O7KaDdkydmRiiDBVI
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Mindfulness-based relapse prevention for problem gambling manual
In Ontario, treatment for people with gambling problems was first implemented in 1995, in response to the opening of the province’s first commercial casino in Windsor. With extensive clinical experience and excellent research since then, knowledge about what constitutes effective treatment has been growing, but no one approach suits everyone. Treatment services have instead tended to adopt an eclectic and holistic approach, incorporating a biopsychosocial-spiritual model that draws on...
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Re: Movies on problem gambling, gaming & tech use
Amazing @Registered Member! Thank you so much, I have already downloaded a copy (and attached here in case others are curious to check it out). Also, I would welcome an updated article.
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Webinar Recording (+ answers to your questions) - Teens and Smartphones
Thank you to all of you who came to this weeks' webinar: Teens and Smartphones: Exploring young peoples’ views of smartphone etiquette, ‘addiction’ and healthy tech use habits. You can watch a recording and download the slides here by toggling to the 'Archive' tab on this page (the recording begins around the five-minute mark). I answered several of your questions during the session but wasn't able to answer all questions so have tried to do so below. Thanks again to everyone who came, it...
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Serious games, mental health apps, and gambling disorder
The title of a recently published article, A Serious Game to Improve Emotion Regulation in Treatment-Seeking Individuals With Gambling Disorder: A Usability Study , peaked my interest for a few reasons. First, being part of a group of folks who design and create learning opportunities for mental health and addictions clinicians, we have talked about integrating "serious games" (broadly defined as games with educational or informational aims, vs. purely entertainment) into our course design.
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Re: Funding for Interventions
Hi Olive I can't find the original document but it is called Ontario's problem - gambling Strategy and it has been in existence since 1996. Since 1999, it has been funded by a formula of 2 percent of gross slot machine revenue from charity casinos and slots at racetracks. The Strategy has a three-pronged approach consisting of treatment, prevention/awareness and research. I have attached a review of the strategy that was conducted in 2005. You can also find some information about it at the...
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Re: Problem Gaming Q&A with Elaine Uskoski (May 6-7, 2021)
Thanks for your question Anita. Q Hindsight is 20/20. It’s always easier to reflect on what you might have done differently when you have the knowledge of what came before. Looking back, were there warning signs that you are more aware of now that you can share with other parents/caregivers? A Yes, there were warning signs. Jake had lost interest in the sports activities he’d loved. He spoke mostly about online friends and much less about friends at school. He had more difficulty waking in...
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Re: Problem Gaming Q&A with Elaine Uskoski (May 6-7, 2021)
Thank you for participating Tara. Q What are some of the main challenges parents/caregivers face when addressing gaming / video game addiction with their children/kin? What have you found to be effective in addressing these challenges? A The biggest challenge I see is that parents do not follow through with consequences of poor behaviour of their child. They don’t have clear rules in place, and so the child ends up making decisions on what is acceptable behaviour. Restrictions are not made...
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Re: Problem Gaming Q&A with Elaine Uskoski (May 6-7, 2021)
This makes a lot of sense to me as well. If there isn't a clear contingency of what is and isn't allowed/expected, then people are going to test where those boundaries are. Especially if the choice is between doing something that they find engaging vs. something that may be important but isn't as immediately as captivating. Do you think that for older teens/young adults that it's better to set clear rules/expectations or to have discussions on time management, values/priorities and how they...
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Re: Problem Gaming Q&A with Elaine Uskoski (May 6-7, 2021)
Great question Mahfuz What I find often is that parents are rewarding children for following rules, rather than setting up a system where the child has a consequence of losing whatever their personal currency is when they don't follow through with expectations. I suggest parents make a list, that is clear for the child to follow, that contains both personal responsibilities as well as chores that are required. This list can be discussed and created with the child. But some of the items are...
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Re: Problem Gaming Q&A with Elaine Uskoski (May 6-7, 2021)
Thanks for your questions, Chloe. Q How would you help parents differentiate healthy and enthusiastic gaming from problem gaming? A Recreational gamers are able to self-regulate their gaming time. They play for short periods of time and understand there are many translatable skills that gaming offers such as problem solving, team dynamics, determination and tenacity, and micro and macro managing. These players still enjoy a variety of other activities outside of gaming. Escapers and High...
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[Online workshop opportunity, March 10th 2022] Fundamentals of gambling and gaming: Effective assessment and treatment planning
The Gambling, Gaming, and Technology Use team is offering a facilitated workshop: Fundamentals of gambling and gaming: Effective assessment and treatment planning on March 10th from 13:00 to 15:00 hours EST. This training is best suited to newly qualified clinicians as well as students who are currently working directly with clients, however, successful completion of the Fundamentals of Gambling and Gaming (FUN-GG) course is a prerequisite. FUN-GG is a short, self-directed course that...
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Canada-focused resources for keeping youth safe online
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection has two excellent resources for parents, caregivers and professionals who would like more information about keeping children and youth safe online. Protectkidsonline.ca has a range of information covering issues such as cyberbullying , exploitation , healthy relationships and online boundaries. This site also separates information by age brackets so information is tailored for children and young people aged 5-7, 8-10, 11-12 and 13-15 years.