

More than just a game
🕐 6 minute read
Your children are exhausted. It isn’t because they are having trouble sleeping, or because they overexerted themselves the day before by so much running around. It is because they were up until 3 am playing video games, and they aren’t able to bounce back.
This carries over into their interactions with you, their success in the classroom, and potentially even their mental/physical health. But how do you end this vicious cycle?
Before we share the opinions of youth sports experts, allow us to admit our biases in advance. We will always recommend using sports and fitness, specifically basketball and strength training, as a means to help your kids overcome their problems whenever applicable. We just want to earn your trust by supplying factual and impartial information on the topic to help you make a more educated decision on what you want to do. These enlightening details may help us all get a better understanding of why children love gaming so much, as well as provide some options toward making your children healthier AND happier.
Here are the facts
Studies show that moderate to vigorous exercise multiple days a week can help prevent childhood obesity and obesity related issues. Hopefully we can all agree there. But did you know that “exergaming” (active video games that are also a form of exercise) has shown a positive effect in promoting preschool children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity at school? It has also been shown to improve their self-perceived competence and motor skill competence. This means movement obviously brings them a greater sense of self worth. So why are they so content with sitting behind a screen for hours at a time?
There are a few reasons why they find it so rewarding, and fortunately these reasons are also found in other environments. Environments that are far away from couches and don’t include VR headgear!
A sense of purpose
This is a hard one to ignore. It simply feels good to put your mind toward something and seek success. Whether it be winning a battle against animated villains, or a championship versus your peers in an athletic competition. The goal of a victory is incredibly motivating.
Problem-solving
Games spark the inner workings of a child’s brain to complete complex tasks. Consequently in sports, coaches implement various strategies for players to “out-think” their opponents. We want youth athletes to use their minds as well as their physical attributes to improve on the court. There is a reason behind our clipboards on the sidelines after all!
Belonging to a team
The encouragement of youngsters to feel they are a part of something larger than themselves has shown to improve self esteem, lower depression symptoms and decrease stress. If a sense of TEAM does not prove that SPORTS are a good correlation here then we are at a loss for words!