Former principal reveals ‘appalling’ impact late night gaming has on kids

A former principal and education expert has revealed the shocking effect too much late night gaming has on children.

The Herald Sun today reports sleep deprived children are using school sick bays to nap after staying up gaming.

But former principal and education expert Adam Voigt says using sick bays for naps is far from the worst thing he’s seen after kids stayed up late playing video games.

“I’d love to be able to tell you that a kid wandering into the sick bay for a nap is the worst of it,” he told Ross and Russel.

“But when you get kids come to school who’ve been deprived of sleep their behaviour is appalling.

“I think every principal has had a kid blow up and even be like verbally abusive towards a teacher, bring them into their office and give them a bit of calm down time and come back five or 10 minutes later and they’re out cold.”

Mr Voigt says he’s seen behavioural problems linked to sleep deprivation in children “as young as about seven or eight”.

“This is where parents really need to step up,” he said.

Mr Voigt suggests parents and children work together to form expectations on technology use. But if that doesn’t work, parents should take a more hard line approach.

“We need parents to actually grab the modem, to turn it off, to stick it under their pillow, to hide it somewhere,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear more of Mr Voight’s insight on how late night gaming affects children