Sunday, December 7, 2008

Video Game health hazards: is your child at risk?

Parents, is your child's obsession with video games hurting their health?
Watch this video to see what happened to a child whose gaming habit hurt him:



Even if your kid is on vacation, even if you can see any justifiable reason to let them have a video game binge, consider making your child agree to a few health rules before they settle in to their games:
** They must agree to get outside to play for an hour or more before they play indoors
** For every two hours of indoor games, they must spend at least 30 minutes outdoors
* They must sip water during their gaming (this is better than soda or other extra-calorie drinks, plus it makes them move because they must need to go to the bathroom)
* They must maintain their schedule of healthy meals with their family
* They cannot snack on chips or candy while they play video games
* They must obey their regular sleep schedule
* Reading should accompany regular gaming: at least one hour of reading per hour of gaming is recommended

Of course, these guidelines apply to vacation times or weekends. During the school-week and in the evenings, gaming time should be minimized. Outdoor play, sports, homework, time with friends and family, meals, sleep, reading, and cultural arts should be their top priorities, which...don't leave time for video games.

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