Go out and play, Calvin!

What happens when you curtail your children's play time on video games during the weekdays?

My son went wild over the weekend playing them. He is a mighty early riser every Sunday morning to start playing his video games as Mom will not be up yet reminding (OK, nagging) him of his limit with, "Play for one hour only!".

He has been complaining of headaches and body aches for the past few weeks. The doctor could not find anything wrong with him and the optician confirmed that his eyesight is alright accept that his eyes are sensitive to light. So, there lies his problem; he has overdosed himself with his video games addiction.

The optician said he needs to view more open space instead of constantly gazing at the computer. A search on this issue confirmed the prescription.

Calvin, note this extract from Better Health:

"Research shows that adults who work at computers for long periods of time are prone to a range of muscle and joint problems that can cause back pain, neck pain and headache".

So, go out and play, Calvin. Video games are off limit to you, even during weekends, till you know how to minimize your health risks by:

1) limiting your time on computer games.
2) not overusing the same controls, eg, keyboard, mouse, joystick or steering wheel.
3) not using unnecessary force on your controls.
4) taking frequent breaks to shake, flex and relax their hands.

Send link to this article to your friends if they invite you to play video games in their homes. And just in case there may be other underlying health issues, you are going for a blood test this Wednesday.