If you have not seen The Power of the Air movie, do so. It’s extremely thought provoking, and it will give you insight on the enemy’s plan to destroy our Christian walk. So here’s what I’d recommend.
Prohibit weekday gaming. Limit to weekends only 3 hours per day. It’s a form of media. Don’t let them bully you about this. Addicts will do that. Would you let your children sit and watch TV for 8 hours? Yet we let our children do that with games. It’s not good for them to be still for so long and it’s overstimulation of the brain and it leads to addiction.
Children get addicted to the visual input. They say screen time at night affects the ability of the brain to shut down for a restful sleep. They of course will balk at this restriction, but you’re the parent. The enemy has used these games to take away from God the time He is due. People who are addicted to gaming aren’t pleasant to be around. They have bad attitudes and they are grouchy. If you want your children to act ungodly, get them a game console.
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
Psalms 1:2
We’re supposed to be meditating on the Word of God all day long and we’re not doing that if our life is revolving around something else.
Require recreational reading. Go to the library. It’s a great habit Check out books that your children are interested. Set a time for recreational reading and monitor phone usage during those hours so that the reading is uninterrupted.
Encourage offline hobbies. The possibilities are endless: skating, gardening, archery, football, soccer, tennis, racquetball, golf, or baseball. Some hobbies you can do together like stamp collecting, going hiking, or swimming. There were no personal computers when I was a kid and we filled up our summers doing physical things and there were less overweight kids because we were always riding bikes and walking to places. Model the adult you want them to be. I came to the Lord late in life, but you who are in Christ as young parents have this opportunity to train up a child in the way he or she should go.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Model a devotional and prayer life. Kids will do what they see you do.
Your child is your most precious commodity and the enemy is after it. Build that child up in the Lord so the enemy doesn’t win.
Following Jesus 