Turn your kid's screen time into active time: 5 tips for parents
Screen-time advice usually focuses on "how many minutes", but there's an equally important variable: during those minutes, is your child sitting still or moving? The same 20 minutes spent passively watching video versus playing something that keeps them jumping are two completely different experiences. Here are 5 tips to tip the balance toward movement.
1. Pick content that forces kids to stand up
Simple rule: if a game can be played while slumped on the couch, it will be played while slumped on the couch. Favor games where standing up is mandatory, such as camera-controlled games: to make the character jump, your child has to actually jump.
2. Move the screen to the living room
A computer connected to the living-room TV gives both room to move and a clear view for parents of what's being played. The game becomes a shared family activity instead of a private world behind a closed door.
3. Play together, take turns, compete
Kids move hardest when there's a rival, and no rival is more appealing than mom or dad. Take turns, one round each, and compare scores at the end. Two minutes of dad on the hula hoop might be the funniest moment of the family's week.
4. Short sessions with a goal
Good active games have 1 to 3 minute rounds. Use that: "3 rounds then a break" is far easier to enforce than "15 minutes then off", because every round has a natural stopping point. Slot water breaks between rounds.
5. Treat it as a warm-up, not a replacement
Active games don't replace running around outside, but they're a lifesaver on rainy or hot days, and a way to "warm up" a child out of a sluggish state. After a few rounds of in-game jumping, getting them to the park is much easier.
Where to start?
At Fun Cam Games there are 2 free games to try today: Dino Camera (jump and duck) and Wing It Pilot (spread your arms to balance). All you need is a computer with a webcam, nothing to install. See all games.