Video Games Cause Gambling in Youth

You might want to be careful before you get your teenagers too many gaming gadgets. Studies by Australian researchers have show n that teenagers who are addicted to video games are more likely to develop obsessive and antisocial tendencies that can lead to a gambling problem later on in life…
This means there might be something to the idea that kids who are the quiet types become the biggest problems in the society. Kids play a lot of video games tend to have a lot less structure in their life. They tend to be really smart, bored and lack parental supervision they also tend to come from homes that are much poorer the psychological pay off for winning at gambling is the same as winning at video games and this is how it comes to be a problem.
The study that claims that gaming leads to a gambling addiction comes from Australia. A survey of 2669 teenagers aged between 13 and 17 by Adelaide University researchers found 56 per cent had also started gambling in the past twelve months. The study also revealed that 2.4 per cent became pathological gamblers by the age of 18. However, the level of damage done to their lives, like losing a house or a relationship was much lower in case of teens simply because they were not as rich as adults.
The study revealed that a large number of teenagers who played video games later became addicted to one kind of gambling whether it be buying scratch cards, playing card games, and playing poker machines. This might sound innocent but many teenagers become obsessed with these forms of gambling which give them the same kind of good feeling and energy charge mentally that gaming does. It is like being in competition with the self with a payoff that is now money instead of gaming points.
The study established that teenage problem gamblers played arcade games three times more often than those who did not gamble, and on average they played hand-held games and Internet games more than twice as often as well.
One of the Australian researched also noticed that teenage boys were more likely to play video games than girl and gamble often.
So if you are planning to get your kid a Nintendo or Gameboy as a gadget for Christmas or a birthday think twice! There is the slight chance that a gambling problem could plague your child for life especially if your kid happens to be male!

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Gift Games For Kids

If kids are bored during the holidays get them playing some games. A good on is the 'What's in the Box Game.'
This gift has layer and layers of wrapping paper but who will be the lucky person to unwrap the last layer and win the gift! This hot potato style of game has variations that can make each unwrapping entertaining.
In the basic version you wrap a gift or gifts if several groups in several layers of wrapping paper. The number of layers depends on how long you want the game to last, plus the more people the more layers.
Have everyone sit in a circle and give your group / groups a gift and tell them when you turn on the music to pass the gift in one direction and when you turn off the music who ever has the gift gets to remove ONE layer of wrapping paper.. The many layers are removed in this fashion until the last layer of paper is taken off and whoever has the gift unwrapped gets to keep it.
Yet another good game is Dice Doubles. This is an Unwrap the Gift Game. Announce that you are going to play a game where you unwrap a gift. Then after everyone is seated and ready to go place a set of oven mitts next to the gift. Now it gets a little harder!
Get a gift or gift certificate and place in a solid box. Then wrap the gift with paper, then masking tape, paper, masking tape, paper etc… The more layers, the harder the game will be to play and the more interesting.
Sit everyone in a circle and announce how the game is played.
Each player takes a turn at rolling 2 dice.
The first person to roll doubles goes to the center of the circle put on the oven mitts or gloves and then starts unwrapping the gift with their hands. They cannot use their teeth or any other part of their body. While the person is working on trying to unwrap the gift, the dice continue to be rolled and passed until the next person rolls the dice and yells, 'Stop!'
At that point the person in the middle must put down the gift, take off the oven mitts/gloves and return to their seat. The next person now puts on the mitts and works to unwrap the gift.
The dice rolling and unwrapping continues until someone finally gets through all the layers of wrapping paper and tape and holds up the gift. Then the gift is theirs to keep.
In a variation you can make it a little harder by making the players wear a hat, scarf and gloves. It can also be made a little harder by only allowing players to change places every time double sixes or ones are rolled.

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