I think this has to do with how a child's parents inform them about the addictive nature. I've been telling this to our children early on ("games = mostly engineered for addiction, be careful"), and the youngest (11yo soon) has no problem understanding this. And I'd say he manages to regulate his gaming hours surprisingly well all by himself.
What I particularly like is that children seem to be quite interested in what it actually is that makes games addictive. So a 10yo might reason along the lines of "Dude, gaming 2 hours straight must be worse for my brain than gaming 45 minutes straight. This game's got too many flashing things, too. Don't want to get addicted. Must go out".
So, from personal experience as a parent, I'd say we adults should not underestimate the influence of educating our children about the dangers of too much gaming. Apparently, quite a bit can be done with very simple means (talking!) to keep things healthier for them. Consistency is key, as always.
I think this is a good policy, but keep in mind that addictive tendencies vary a lot between different people. This talk may not be enough for a lot of kids and it will be unnecessary for other kids.
For example, my parents never discouraged or curtailed my gaming in any way, yet I never had any trouble self-regulating — not because I'm just that good, but because the vast majority of games just don't scratch my itch.
To give you an idea, I tried super hard to get into WoW when I was a university student with a lot of free time, because that's what my friends were playing, but I just couldn't. There was just way too much grinding. I forced myself to play for about an hour a day, but I couldn't keep it and stopped playing altogether after two months. I made a few more stabs at trying to get into it of the next few years, but it never held my attention.
That game definitely had some really great gameplay moments (I LOVED doing instances with my friends, for example), but it was interspersed with so much grinding and fluff that it overwhelmingly felt like a chore to play.
This has generally been my issue with video games. Whenever I find a game that actually makes me want to play for 2 hours straight, I get excited and specifically set aside time to indulge myself as long as I want. It's such a rare and precious joy to get that much sustained pleasure out of a game.
What I particularly like is that children seem to be quite interested in what it actually is that makes games addictive. So a 10yo might reason along the lines of "Dude, gaming 2 hours straight must be worse for my brain than gaming 45 minutes straight. This game's got too many flashing things, too. Don't want to get addicted. Must go out".
So, from personal experience as a parent, I'd say we adults should not underestimate the influence of educating our children about the dangers of too much gaming. Apparently, quite a bit can be done with very simple means (talking!) to keep things healthier for them. Consistency is key, as always.