Children and Electronic Games: A Comparison of Parents' and Children's Perceptions of Children's Habits and Preferences in a United States Sample

Despite the popularity of violent electronic games, anecdotal evidence suggests that many parents lack even basic information about children's game-playing habits. The goal of the present study was to examine parental knowledge of children's electronic game-playing habits by assessing the congruence between children's and parents' perceptions of child's playing time, parental supervision, game preference, and reaction to actual game-playing. 35 children in Grades 3 to 5 and one parent of each child completed a background questionnaire and played either a violent or nonviolent electronic game. In paired comparisons, parents reported significantly higher estimates of supervision time than children. Most parents either named an incorrect game or were not able to guess their child's favorite game. In 70% of these incorrect matches, children described their favorite game as violent. Parents may underestimate their child's exposure to violence in electronic games. After playing the same electronic game as part of the study, parents reported significantly higher frustration than children. Higher frustration with game-playing could contribute to deficits in parental knowledge of children's playing habits.