A Qualitative Exploration of How Children and Parents Experience and Structure Disengagement from Games

Disengagement from games can be challenging for players, and various attempts have been made to provide parents with the tools to limit children’s playing time. However, little is known about how children experience disengagement, and how children and parents jointly navigate the process of exiting a play session. To address this gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 participants, including 13 children (ages 4–9) and 12 parents. Through Thematic Analysis, we show that children – like adults – struggle to exit play if they have not yet reached a point of closure and are unsatisfied with their experience. At the same time, parents experience frustration when establishing limits, and many found it difficult to account for the state of a play session. On this basis, we highlight the relevance of disengagement-friendly game design and mediation strategies, and provide recommendations for children’s disengagement from play sessions while protecting their player experience.