Influences of TV games on physical and psychological development of Japanese kindergarten children.

The present study was an investigation of playing a TV game and its influences on physical and psychological development of kindergarten children. A self-completed questionnaire was delivered to the parents of 426 children. Of these, 408 had fully completed answers. Questions regarded the amounts of TV game play, its influences on health and on development of children and the attitudes of parents toward the game. Analysis indicated that the kindergarten children, especially boys, played frequently and both the percentage of players and the number of playing hours increased with age. Few adverse effects were reported on vision or other aspects of physical health. Children who played the game had much higher scores on sociability than those with no experience. This seemed to reflect that children acquired a new repertoire of plays from the TV game.