Keep your kids moving with backyard Minecraft…

 

If your kids are anything like mine I bet they love computer games. And as much as I try to be diplomatic every time my six your old asks to play Minecraft on the ipad, I can’t help but think that too much computer time is going to cause physical problems for them as they get older. As an Exercise Physiologist, I’ve seen the alarmingly increasing rates of weight problems and even Diabetes that children seem to be facing more and more, and it seems that those computer games have something to do with it.

On one hand you’ve got your child hounding you to play more on the Xbox, but in the back of your mind you know that some time outdoors is important. To compound matters, it seems to happen often (at least for our kids) that some physical activity outside is met with the reply ‘I’m bored!’. So what to do? A little while ago I had an epiphany about this. One day, instead of cringing through this same scenario, we played some new games out in the yard: computer games! Not on the computer though… real life computer games. And it worked a treat. First we played real life ‘Jetpack’ (ie, a popular ipad game) complete with obstacles and ‘baddies’ constructed from only the most sophisticated machinery… such as the wheelbarrow, the hose and a few chairs. Next we played ‘pitfall’ (another ipad game), sliding under rocky overhangs (pool noodles), jumping over gigantic ravines (tonka trucks) and avoiding fierce snakes (a few pieces of rope).

This went on for at least an hour or two. And the best part about it was that the kids told me how to play! It was quite amazing, it just evolved over time and as long as I was a happy participant, the ‘computer game’ continued, eventually resulting in three exhausted boys and a satisfied dad. Since this first time, we’ve played many more of these games (yes, including minecraft – I spotted my first ‘Endaman’ in a tree the other day, quite spectacular!) and the best part is that as new games appear on the computer, it is new material to use out in the yard.

So next time you find yourself in an arm-wrestle with your kids to relinquish the Playstation controller and get them outside, give this a go!