Dr. Rewati Govindrajan

Your mother has often yelled at you for playing video games for long hours but obviously you haven’t paid heed to it. Such is the obsession with video games that they don’t let you rest unless you have championed all the levels in the virtual interface. Here is the source of all problems. Studies have revealed that video games have a direct relation to neurological disorders. As a result, many health experts across the world consider video game as a kind of health abuse.

People who play action-oriented video games are at higher risks. The more you indulge in these kinds of games, the more they are going to affect the hippocampus section of your brain. It is that part of the brain which is considered to be the centre of your nervous system, memory, and emotion. This has a detrimental effect on your overall brain health.

Let us see some of the signs which may indicate the onset of certain complications arising from an over indulgence in these games.
1. You spend hours on the computer or related gaming devices and devote lesser hours for your family and friends.
2. You get agitated when someone stops you midway through the game
3. You become socially isolated and show signs of occasional mood swings
4. You are unable to keep a track of time once you start playing
5. You repeatedly neglect your studies, resulting in a dip in performance at school

Why does this happen?
All of the above signs indicate that sooner or later you might develop neurological problems. When you spend an excessive number of hours on playing and navigating through the games, the ‘hippocampus’ portion of your brain shows signs of decreased gray matter. As a result, the volume of the hippocampus shrinks, causing severe nerve related disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, depression, and overall general stress.

One of the biggest reasons behind this is a lack of self-control. Most of the video games will encourage you to steal cars, run away after a theft and kill your enemies. Moreover, if you succeed, you are rewarded. This naturally unleashes a blatant urge for the gratification of all these awkward desires in your real life too. Hence, once you are encountered with the reality, you tend to show violent behavior.

Some babies learn to walk by the age of nine to ten months, and others may take longer, much longer to start walking properly. By the age of 15 months, people may start asking you if your little munchkin is able to walk yet. These constant questions can eventually irk you off, and keep you wondering if truly your baby is facing any sort of disability or not. In most cases, you will probably find your baby was too lazy to start walking all along, and he has mastered the art of “toddling” a couple of months later. Other times, when your baby has not started walking in over 17 months, you may want to give your paediatrician a visit.

When should you not worry?

If your baby is an active child and is playing around normally, you may not worry about him or her too much. If you find your child able to move around crawling or rapidly kicking his legs around, then your child is probably a late bloomer when it comes to walking. Other factors that will indicate that your baby is not going through any developmental issues are when he or she is able to communicate with sounds or broken speech. Other thing that you must keep in your mind is the relative age of your baby if it is born premature. If your toddler was born two months prematurely, then you must consider his developmental age by adding two months to his actual birth. Also notice if your child is able to move positions on his own, like if he is able to change positions when he is sitting down or lying down. As such, inability to walk is not really a solid indicative of a developmental disorder.

When is it of concern?

When you go to your paediatrician with your child regarding his inability to walk, your doctor will firstly take a note of the general movement of your baby. Thus the “quality” of movement is what matters the most. If your baby is showing signs of rigidity or flaccidity in his limbs, it may concern your doctor, as it is the primary symptom of cerebral palsy. Nothing can be concluded unless your get proper reports of scans like MRIs which your doctor will recommend you to get.

If your child is not walking, avoid carrying him around too much to allow him to make movements on his own. Who knows, you may find yourself chasing him around all over in no time!

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!