New study shows video games lower grades

VIDEO - "Give a new toy that's a video game, kids want to play it. And they'll play it at the expense of reading and writing," explained pediatrician Dr. Ellen Rome...

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A new study finds that video games may have a negative impact on grades.

The study included boys between the ages of 6 and 9, who did not have video game systems.

One group was given video games, the other was not.

After just four months, the video game players had lower reading and writing scores.

“This study had a simple finding. Give a new toy that’s a video game, kids want to play it. And they’ll play it at the expense of reading and writing,” explained pediatrician Dr. Ellen Rome.

Dr. Rome says she often talks to her patients and parents about video games.

The researchers pointed out this doesn’t mean parents have to eliminate all games, and the doctor agrees.

“We don’t need to make video games forbidden fruit. We just have to make sure we’re monitoring. And if we say one hour today, that means one hour today,” Dr. Rome said.

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