I recently came across the term gamification and realized that this is why I enjoy DietBet so much: it makes a game out of weight loss and fitness. Games are fun. Adding game elements – like points, competition, teams, rules, championships, and prizes — to some other area of life can make our efforts in that area much more fun and interesting. In fact, I saw a book at the library called “Level Up Your Life” that uses this concept. I haven’t read it yet, but it looked intriguing!
I have been thinking about how to apply this concept to parenting. When our kids were little, we used reward charts to motivate them to learn new skills, like potty training and making their beds, or break bad habits, like coming into our bedroom every night at 4:00am. I didn’t think of it this way at the time, but this is another example of gamification! The kids loved reward charts and we found them very effective. Now that they are older (15 and 12), I am trying a new type of game: a two-week “Family Challenge.” For now, we have two rules: 1) From 4:30-5:30, everyone (including me) has to be off electronics and either do homework, read, or do a physical activity, and 2) At 8:30, the entire family has to run around the house straightening up everything (putting away items, getting backpacks ready for school, wiping kitchen counters, etc). At the end of two weeks, we will have some kind of celebration and reflect on whether we want to keep doing these things or try a new challenge. I’ll let you know how it goes!
