Video games are more popular than ever, and many kids start playing them from a very young age. Every gamer can remember the first time they picked up a controller, and while video games can be amazing, it’s also critical to spend time away from screens. As parents, the responsibility for monitoring your child’s screen time will fall on your shoulders. It can be a massive challenge, but this is also an excellent opportunity to bond with your child and understand them. It’s a chance to explore interests and activities together and close the generation gap.
If you want your child to get away from screens, it is crucial to understand why they love spending so much time in virtual worlds. Perhaps they like the constant challenge and ability to earn rewards. Maybe they enjoy how they can play the hero and the sense of purpose it offers. When you comprehend what they get from video games, you will better understand how to engage with them about screen time or what other activities they might enjoy.
When talking to your kid about different activities, you can also try to entice them with phrasing that might remind them of a video game. For example, a hike could be “an adventure,” or writing could be “a chance to plan and prepare for a quest.”
RoyalBaby Kids Bike Boys Girls Freestyle Bicycle
Give your kid the freedom to explore. This bike is perfect for kids of any age, and it comes with many different color options, sizes and even an option for training wheels. It’s very easy to assemble, durable and comes with a water bottle holder. The one con is that this bike is a little bit heavy at 21 lbs. to 25lbs.
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TrailBuddy Collapsible Hiking Poles
Hiking can be a literal adventure. These trekking poles are very easy to use and come with some amazing features for the price. Choose from seven different colors. Lever locks make it simpler and quicker to adjust the size of the trekking pole. Poles run from 25.5 inches to 54 inches, and each pole weighs just 275 grams.
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Bunch O Balloons - 350 Rapid-Fill Water Balloons
These water balloons are perfect for a summer day and getting the kids outside. Each purchase comes with a total of 350 water balloons. They are self-sealing, so there is no need to stress over tying knots, and you can fill up to 100 balloons with water in just 60 seconds. Used water balloons can be collected and shipped back to TerraCycle to be recycled.
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USAOPOLY Super Mario Odyssey Snapshots 1000 Piece Premium Puzzle
Take their favorite video games off-screen. USAOPOLY has many different puzzles with different themes. This is the 1,000-piece Mario Odyssey puzzle. Relive the adventure and construct a puzzle featuring Mario and Cappy’s greatest moments. A visual reference is included inside the box to help.
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Hasbro Gaming Star Wars Chess Game
Chess allows gamer children to use strategy in a competitive yet intelligent setting. This chess set features Star Wars characters. Choose the light or dark side and move around heroes like Luke Skywalker or Yoda or villains like Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Each piece is well-sculpted and detailed, and this is an official Hasbro product. The one downside is that the pieces are plastic.
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Children can benefit from learning how to meditate and slow down. This book is great for beginners and experts alike and comes with 75 different meditation ideas to try out with your children. You can accomplish many of the meditations in as little as 5 to 10 minutes, and the book itself is written so anyone can understand it.
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JOYIN Dinosaur Kids Gardening Tool Set
Kids can get outdoors and see their hard work grow into a living plant, edible or flower. This garden set is dinosaur-themed and great for young children. Each piece is plastic and safe to use but also still usable in the garden. Give your kids daily missions and objectives and let them grow their favorite plant inside an adorable dinosaur pot.
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Amazon Basics College Ruled Wirebound Spiral Notebook, 70-Sheet - 5-Pack
Notebooks are great for daily diaries, writing exercises or writing up short stories. This set of notebooks costs just $10 and comes with five different notebooks. Each notebook is a different color and contains 70 pages. For people who take their notebooks everywhere, this paper isn’t as thick as some other notebooks on the market.
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J&Z Beginner Guitar Acoustic Classical Guitar ¾
Music is a huge part of video games, and kids can learn to play their favorite songs on guitar. This is a classical guitar with nylon strings, which are less painful than steel strings, especially for beginners. It includes a bag, strap, tuner and picks. The guitar is made with maple and basswood and comes with a beautiful traditional finish.
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Artisto 9x12" Premium Sketch Book Set
Drawing is an amazing way for kids to expand their imagination and recreate their favorite worlds. This set comes with two notebooks with 100 9-inch by 12-inch sheets. The paper is durable and great for pencil and colored pencil use. Just note that the paper is thinner than some other notebooks on the market.
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Stephen Morin writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
![Artisto 9x12" Premium Sketch Book Set](http://cdn26.bestreviews.com/images/v4desktop/image-full-page-cb/artisto-9x12-premium-sketch-book-set-1af79f.jpg?p=w1228 "Artisto 9x12" Premium Sketch Book Set")