by Carisa Silvesan

Created on: November 23, 2007

With the age of technology has come the generation of children who are glued to the TV and addicted to the computer. While this technology has made our lives better in many ways, some children feel it is the only thing in their lives to benefit from. However too much of a "good thing" can do more harm than good to our children. If they're not active they can become overweight, which leads to health problems. Their sense of imagination may vanish. But not to worry. Here are several activities your 8 to 12 year old can to do re-embrace their childhood.

Get out the pens, crayons, pencils, paper, paints and more! Get some art work up on your walls. Children love to create and what better way than to let them create their own masterpiece and then hang it up where everyone can see it. Buy some molding clay or beads and let their imagination run wild. Collect some of nature's finest leaves and/or flowers and press them between some wax paper with a cool iron. Help your children learn how to sew, knit, crochet or do needlepoint. Art incorporates so many things and is so versatile that you really can never run out of ideas.

Remember all those board games you loved to play as a kid? Well, whose to say your children won't like them too? So get some cash and head out to your local toy store and pick up a few games. Monopoly, Sorry, Checkers, Chess and more. Buy or borrow from the library a book on card games. Get a good deck and spend an afternoon learning how to play different card games with your kids.

For those who are blessed with extra cash, purchase a durable digital camera for your child along with some photo paper for your printer and a few frames from your local dollar store. Go for a walk and take pictures together. Bring them home, print them out and hang those bad boys up! Or there's always scrapbooking the photos, which incorporates a little art as well.

Imagination. Help your children create a new world by using their imagination. Build a tent under that dining room table or loft bed. Read a story and then try to act it out. Help your child to create a new book about a new place or person or whatever being they can come up with.

Last, but certainly not least, teach your children to be good stewards to their neighbors by turning off the tube and making something for the lady or gentleman next door. Create a good deeds list or offer to help out once a week with babysitting, grocery shopping or just helping out around the house. Just spending time with other people can help create the social skills necessary in life that television and the computer will never give them.

So next time you discover your children have been technologically addicted for over an hour, take some of these ideas and put them into play. We are so busy in life, but remember it is worth it to take some time to teach your children how to smell the roses - non digital roses that is!

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