When I first watched my extended family playing Pac-Man, Frogger, and Nintendo games in the 1980s, I never dreamed video games would become such an obsession. The first time I saw one of these games, I noticed how my family members would become so engrossed they would forget about everything and everyone around them. My family and I had traveled over 2,000 miles to see these relatives, but their game-playing limited their time with us.

Today, many children spend more time in front of screens than they do playing outside. Video game addiction or “gaming disorder” is now listed in the International Classification of Diseases. The estimated percentage of addicted game players of all ages is only around 3%.* However, children who play games are not living their lives as fully as they could.

Maybe it’s time for us to remind children of the fun things they can do instead of playing video games or sitting in front of a screen. Activity and creativity will pull them out of the stupor that seems to accompany screen time. Here is a list to get you started:

• Find ten kinds of bugs.
• Paint a pet’s picture.
• Draw a self-portrait.
• Build a model.
• Write a play
• Make a gift.
• Do a good deed.
• Watch a sunset.
• Play catch.
• Learn three new words and try to stump your friends.
• Shoot baskets.
• Skate.
• Ride a bike.
• Read a book.
• Write a book.
• Skip stones over water.
• Make a fort.
• Go swimming.
• Explore the Bible for animal names.
• Act out a story.
• Read to a younger child.
• Play freeze tag.
• Design disguises.
• Write secret messages in code.
• Learn Morse Code.
• Make creative snacks.
• Do mental math.
• Put puzzles together.
• Design a puzzle.
• Make up silly songs and stories.

Maybe if we guide children towards creative and physical activities, they’ll rediscover how exciting and fun life can be.

Most importantly, when we help children avoid obsession of every kind, we help prepare them for real life. We can guide them toward loving and serving God instead of making idols of their desires. Maybe they’ll even prefer spending time with the family instead of holing up with a video game.

© Jeanne Dennis

In Jeanne Dennis’s award-winning book, Matt’s Compusonic, Matt can’t put down his new video game. It’s filled with monsters, perils, and thousands of levels. As exciting as the game seems, he finally realizes that spending time with his friends is much more fun.

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*Matthew W. R. Stevens, et al, Global prevalence of gaming disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis, NIH National Library of Medicine https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33028074/, accessed 8-20-22.