Child gambling is on the rise
There are lot of things that families do together. They go on car rides in the country and camping trips in the woods. They visit amusement parks, zoos, and museums. They have barbecues, play games, and do fun stuff around the house. But one thing families should not do together is play the lottery. Although playing the lottery is an exciting and fun thing to do for responsible adults, it is not something that minors should be included in.
Youth gambling is a problem
The reason for this is that youth gambling is a worldwide issue. Various studies and research have shown that kids, teens, and young adults aged 10 to 24 years old have higher rates of having a gambling problem than adults. And it’s not hard to see why. Kids and teens are introduced to gambling at an early age through online social media sites, game apps, or other similar types of websites. Even playing what looks like an innocent game may have some type of gambling action in it where the player must offer up something that they have for a chance to win something of greater value, such as offering up a sword for a chance to get an even greater weapon. At school, they may be introduced to gambling by other students.
Youth gambling can be seen on many types of gaming activities. There are dares and private bets, sports pools, card games, scratch tickets, sports betting, and a lot of others. And young problem gamblers do some of the same things as adults with gambling problems do, to keep it up. They will lie and steal, skip school, borrow money from friends and family, and do anything else to get money to keep on gambling.
Boys are far more likely to develop a gambling problem than girls, but many young females also develop out of control gambling issues. Some of the reasons youth develop gambling issues could be from having other problems in their lives that they are trying to soften or forget. They could be having problems with other students at school, feeling shunned or lonely. Their home situation may be one of abuse or turmoil. They lack self esteem. They may want to prove a point.
Regardless of the reason, youth gambling is a big issue that is constantly being studied to develop recognition and treatment protocols. So with your child being surrounded by the idea of gambling from schoolmates and the Internet, it really isn’t prudent to add fuel to the fire.
It is perfectly fine to talk to your kids about gambling on the lottery to instill in them that it is an adult activity that requires a lot of responsibility to do. Explain both the good and bad points about playing the lottery, and don’t sugar coat it. But keep the actual acts of playing the lottery away from them.
Never buy tickets if your kids are with you. You should only buy tickets if you are alone or with another adult so the kids don't see lottery advertising. If you pick your own numbers, do it in private when the kids are not present. And if you actually happen to win, try not to make a fuss about it. It will be hard to do, but you don't what your children to equate money or lifestyle with the lottery.
So keep your lottery playing activities from becoming a family affair. The less your kids are exposed to gambling, the less likely the will become gamblers themselves.