It seems strange right? How could video games get kids outside? Growing up I hated video games. I grew up in the era of Atari and Nintendo. Up until 1985 (when Nintendo made their first home system) kids played outside it was a lot more fun than being inside.

I learned to tie my shoes just so I could go outside. That’s where all the kids were. Shoe tieing was my mom’s insentive plan.

Outside we made bows and arrows out of hay bail twine, climbed trees, made forts, peeked in birds nests and mastered the art of riding a bike without using our hands. It was a never ending adventure.

Kids Stopped Going Outside

In 1985 the kids next door got a Nintendo and my world changed. No one went outside anymore. I begged and they would decline without even looking up, eyes glued to the screen.

This wasn’t just my life, it happened everywhere. Video games, TV shows, and the constant flow of new Tech made it increasingly easier to keep kids entertained inside.

In fact, gaming is now a diagnosable addiction, with therapy groups and detox centers. Video game usage went up and time spent outside went down.

It became Rare to See Kids outside

Technology made it easier to not be outside. Maybe parents also became scared and stopped letting their kids outside because they knew about all the horrible stuff happening around the globe. I think it was probably a combination of both.

Society Became Suspicious When Kids Were Outside

Parents have been criticized for being too protective by some and not protective enough by others.

Like this Maryland couple, “accused of child neglect for letting their kids roam around their neighborhood.” Meaning, a 10 and 6 year old walked to the park in their neighborhood.

!! Right, I read this too my 11 year old and she was incredulous and insulted.

Here is my personal experience,

Why My Children Went Outside Less

A few years ago I went on a bike ride with my children on a quiet neighborhood street. Two on their own bikes, two pulled in a bike trailer.

A police officer pulled up next to us and slowly drove by, eyeing me like I was doing something wrong. True, not many people have four children, but I had better adult-to-child ratio than most daycares.

It was rare to see someone out with so many (four) children. It just isn’t common, so I was viewed suspiciously.

And also this

While at a grocery store I went to return my cart, about 4 car lengths away from where I was parked. A cute old woman asked if she could have my cart.

Now this grocery store has you put a quarter in the cart to unlock it. Even though it’s just a quarter there are never stray carts in the Aldi parking lot. People will walk a few yards to save the quarter for next time.

I passed the cart over to the nice old woman and began to walk away. She called me back, insisting she pay me. It was an over cast day, the sun was setting, the temperature maybe 40°. I determined my children would be just fine in the car while I wait.

The woman, no joke, payed me in pennies!

And just like in the movies, she put them in my hand one at a time. So it took a little while, like maybe 4 minutes – but when 25 pennies are being painstakingly placed in your hand – time goes a LOT slower.

By the time I got back to my car, remember about 4 minutes later, a woman I knew and her teenagers were staring angrily at me and my vehicle.

She slammed her door and hissed, “YOU left your children alone in the car!”

Surprised I said, “Well yes, I was returning my cart.” I was sure she would understand. Instead, she huffed and stomped away.

When parents are criticized for being over protective we need to stop and wonder why. The pressure is great my friends. Society is pressuring us to hyper-parent, believing it will be safer.

When I decide to give my children more autonomy I actually worry more about what “well intended” citizens are going to do, than what criminals are going to do. Though, I assure you I take creepy people into consideration while making decisions.

Video Game Use Stats

As I researched graphs and data I actually found several sources showing that as video game sales went up, the number of violent crimes went down.

Now data, can say what you want it to say depending on how you look at it. What I saw – people were no longer outside in society to do crimes, they were shooting behind a screen.

The data also clearly was pointing out violent crime incidents, not deaths total. We have definitely seen an increase in mass shootings, but a decrease in total individual crimes. So less people doing crimes yet more people doing insanely deadly crimes.

So why did we decide to get a gaming console?

Kids Go Where the Video Games Are

A woman with several teenagers once told me she was also weary of video games, but found her kids went where the games were. They still played video games and on top of that, games she couldn’t control. We’re they violent, were they risky? She didn’t know the kids weren’t in her home.

So they bought a gaming console.

As our kids got older we started to see a similar trend and decided to join the gaming community. We wanted to have more control of what was being played. We wanted our children to have a safe place to hang with their friends. And we wanted to set rules that would protect their brains from the very real gaming addiction.

The Video Gaming Rule That Got Our Kids Outside

The whole purpose of our video game rules were to avoid gaming addiction, promotes healthy relationships and development real world problem solving skills. You can read more about our gaming rules here.

The one that got our kids outside was simply that, we tied gaming to time spent outdoors. For every half hour outside they got 15 minutes game time.

You may be wondering, why weren’t your kids outside anyway? And… I don’t know – I’m guessing much of it had to do with the several things discussed above.

• There weren’t other kids outside
• There is pressure from others to not be outside
• The parks are empty
• There are no pick up games, it’s all organized sports now

The list could go on and on. What I do know is my kids started going outside voluntarily once I tied it to video games.

I hope they continue to discover the natural wonder and adventure of the outdoors – I’m only getting started.

Are you a gamer? What to you do for balance?

What do you do to get your kids independently outdoors?

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See you next time!

Natalie