PlayStation Portable, or PSP is a portable video game console which is released by the Sony company. Whether it is worth pleasing the child with purchase of an electronic toy or it is waste of money which can conceal in itself health hazards and development of the child?
It is more than just a toy
The Sony company showed the first PSP to public in 2004, and since then this console became a subject of dreams for millions of children around the world. However many parents doubt expediency of purchase of PSP: why to spend money for senseless games?
Of course, games is the main PSP function, but not only. Actually, this console – something bigger, than just game console, and it can please not only the child gamer, but also adults, far from computer games. So, this gadget gives the chance to watch video, to listen to favourite music in a MP3, to download and look at photos and even to go on-line. All this does the console almost irreplaceable on the way: to pass away time on a travel, it is not necessary to carry with itself the heavy laptop any more.
But on it the list of opportunities of PSP does not come to an end: there is a set of additional accessories with which if desired it is possible to add the gadget. So, the tiny webcam will turn the game console into the camera with quite tolerable quality of pictures and attached via the USB TV module – in the mobile TV which can be taken everywhere. It is possible to attach both portable columns, and even the GPS navigator to the console. Not to mention that and it is interesting to adult to play games maybe.
Whether it is dangerous?
Often parents are wary of computer games as consider that they can negatively affect development of the child, distract from study, prevent successful socialization. It is interesting that, contrary to common opinion, in hobby for computer games there are also positive sides. First of all, scientists note that use of a computer mouse or the joystick contributes to the development of fine motor skills that is especially important at preschool and younger school age. Besides, little gamers show the best speed of reaction, especially visual: during the game the child should watch closely the events on the display and, if something happens, immediately to react. Thanks to it in a brain of the child new useful connection is established, the visual analyzer trains and develops. Dangerous computer games become if the child begins to abuse them that can become the reason of development of the true dependence. The game addiction, though is not included meanwhile in the list of mental disorders on the international classification of diseases, is a serious problem. The child at whom dependence of this sort developed becomes aggressive, he has problems in communication with peers, the progress at school decreases and hours-long games have an adverse effect on health of the gamer. To avoid negative consequences, psychologists recommend to limit time which the child finds for computer games. So, the first grader has to spend in the virtual world no more than 10 minutes, children of 8-11 years – 20 minutes, teenagers have to be limited for 30 minutes. Besides, it is worth protecting children from games at which there are scenes of cruelty and violence. For this purpose in PSP there is a function of parental control.