When we got our first computer it came with games.
Card games and computer games.
While the card games took up time, they didn't really pull any of us into the computer.
The games did.
This is a problem when you have two toddlers, which we did at the time.
Hours of Screen Time: Have you ever tallied up all the time you spend in front of a screen? We have our computers, cell phones, televisions and video games.
Many of us use all of them every day.
That adds up to hours sitting and staring.
This isn't good for our eyes and it's even less so for our waist lines.
Unless you have an interactive exercise game all of that time is probably from a seated position.
The only thing getting exercised might be our fingers.
Addictive: When we're playing a game anything that disturbs us is annoying.
The adrenaline is flowing and we don't want to stop.
This is very much like the symptoms of an addiction.
We can hear the plea (or we make it ourselves) "Five more minutes, please?" Time Management: We can get around this problem, both for ourselves and our children.
Limiting screen time is good for the whole family.
An example of how to do this might include no cell phones at the dinner table.
This means we might actually talk to one another.
Another is to set a timer.
When the timer goes off, so does the screen.
After that it's time to do something that doesn't involve a screen.
Go outside and play.
Learn a new hobby like crocheting or origami.
We don't have to let video games take over our lives.
In fact, it's important that we don't.
We need to actually live our own lives and that includes interacting with one another as a family.