My husband and I were running into a dilemma with our kids becoming zombies. Video games like…read moreFortnite, Super Smash bros., Plants vs Zombies, Minecraft, Legend of Zelda and more have invaded our household, their minds and our conversations. The kids couldn't wait to get home from school so they could stay glued to their game consoles.
I was having troubles relating to conversations with my gen alphas like:
"I have to show you the house I made at Minecraft," "I finally made a pick axe "
"I can't wait to get that Snoop Dog skin, can you emote with us?"
"That move was so OP with that flame bow"
The generation gap is real, My video games growing up were arcade based, like Street Fighter, pac man, astroids, Mortal Kombat, but even then I couldn't fathom spending hours playing on the screen. My Gen X mind was reeling and thinking... it's time for the family to touch grass.
My husband's friend suggested Rugby. Her son is high school aged for the team called Falcons with team mates from YOLO and Solano counties. It was perfect because once football season ended, he was ready and conditioned for Rugby. My husband and the kids checked the games out last year and was impressed with the coaches and the sportsmanship of the players.
This season, we decided to lessen screen time and increase exercise. It started out with our 13 year old and 11 year old boy. They looked like fishes out of water but we kept pushing and encouraging. A week later, our 8 year old girl wanted to try as well and off she went.
A few weeks later, a few games later they're still trekking, running, getting up early and it's been inspiring for us parents to watch them.
They're getting beat up,
they're falling down, their face is on the ground
they're getting discouraged,
BUT the trade off is:
they're getting coached,
they're learning to push past the pain and their self conceived limits,
they're learning sportsmanship and working with others
they're learning to strategize
Because isn't that what being out on the field is all about? It's practice for life and part of growing up. The times of covid, sheltering, hiding is going away if not gone, and we realized how much our kids have been socially, physically, emotionally and mentally hindered because of the past few years.
If they can start young, get exposed to different thought processes, build on their confidence, speak up and be surrounded by encouraging adults and other players who challenge and push, then the sky is the limit for our kiddos. Great club to be part of.