How young is too young for video games?

Assessing the impact of media on kids and adolescents is very tricky business. I sometimes assign my students the task of arguing the positive or negative effects, and they quickly discover it's fairly easy to build a convincing case for either side, regardless of their personal beliefs. I suppose nearly every games blogger has written on the subject in one way or another, including me (probably too often) here, here, and here.

Less murky, however, is the growing evidence suggesting that babies younger than 2 years old should be kept away from video altogether. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children younger than 2 be restricted from television viewing, citing studies that suggest a negative impact on early brain development. Research indicates that watching videos may lead to ADHD later in childhood and restrict the amount of time a baby spends interacting with and exploring her environment.[1]

Interestingly, Disney's Baby Einstein, and the So Smart series continue to market DVDs designed for babies, and DirecTV has a 24-hour channel specifically targeted at infants called BabyFirstTV. I've never seen any of these products, so I can't comment on them, other than to say they all profess to be "award-winning."

So what about video games? How early should kids be introduced to them, and which ones should they play? There is surprisingly little information available on the subject. We've all seen the toddlers playing Wii Tennis and Bowling on YouTube, and they certainly seem to enjoy it. What about handheld games or computer games specifically designed to teach spelling and math, for example?

When it comes to parenting a 15-year-old gamer, I have more ratings, warnings, research, and opinions than I can possibly use. But I confess I'm at a loss with our new baby girl. I know she won't be playing Super Mario Galaxy any time soon, but at some point...well, let's just say I can't wait for the day when she collects those star bits for me and bops those goombas on the head! The question is, when?

If you have ideas or personal stories about children and video games, I'd love to hear them.

Update: Alec at Castle in the Air has written a most thoughtful essay on this very subject. I encourage you to read it here.