I was one of those first people who installed Pokemon Go and played it. The game was novel to me; it is playing a game in a real world context. It is also good that I played it. I was able to relate with my children when they talked about what pokemons and how many pokemons they caught.

Pokemons may be good for children. Unlike the usual games or apps, Pokemon Go allows children to move around. This is a sort of exercise for children who seldom do active activities.

The problem with playing Pokemon Go comes when children are in school and they have no phone to play it! Do you know what they do? They do role-playing! One child would pretend to be the Pokemon, one child would pretend to be the Pokemon Trainer, and so on. I would hear them saying, “I broke free!” with matching action like “hatching from an egg”.

While this is a genius play (because of their wild imagination), they need a lot of close monitoring or observation because it can lead to violence or hurting one another. They pretend to be “pokemons” and have battle – a pokemon fighting with another pokemon. They act out throwing “Poke Ball” to a “pokemon”. All of these actions can hurt their friends without them knowing. This is the negative effect of Pokemon Go from my observation.

Will I allow my child to play Pokemon Go?

My answer is NO. I can find alternative to this game that will not effect violence. We have to remember that children learn or acquire behavior based on what they observe.

Am I telling you not to let your child play Pokemon Go?

The answer is yours. In case you did, watch closely your child and explain what need to be explained.