When we got our first computer, it came with games. Card games and computer games. While the card games took time, they didn’t really get any of us to the computer. The games did. This is a problem when you have two young children, which we did at the time.

hours of screen time: Have you ever counted all the time you spend in front of a screen? We have our computers, cell phones, televisions, and video games. Many of us use them every day. That adds up to hours sitting and watching.

This is not good for our eyes and even less for our waist. Unless you have an interactive exercise game, all of that time is probably from a seated position. The only thing that gets exercised could be our fingers.

Addictive: When we are playing anything that bothers us is annoying. The adrenaline flows and we don’t want to stop. This is very much like the symptoms of an addiction. We can hear the plea (or make it ourselves) “Five more minutes, please?”

Time management: We can solve this problem, both for ourselves and for our children. Limiting screen time is good for the whole family. An example of how to do this might include not using cell phones at the dinner table. This means that we could actually talk to each other.

Another is to set a timer. When the timer goes off, so does the screen. After that, it’s time to do something that doesn’t involve a screen. Go out and play. Learn a new hobby like crochet or origami.

We don’t have to let video games take over our lives. In fact, it’s important that we don’t. We need to live our own lives and that includes interacting with each other as a family.