Technology Replaces Fitness

Video games are replacing sport as new government policy allows kids to play Wii during PE lessons.

Parents of kids in trial schools can now opt for their children to play games like Wii Fit and Wii Sports during physical education. Some schools are even offering Wii as an optional sport amongst a list of traditional outdoor activities. This comes after a move made by the NSW Department of Education and the Australian Sports Commission to add the fitness titles to the PE curriculum, in the face of rising obesity levels in children.

As you would expect, the decision has been met with both criticism by some and praise by others. Australian boxer Danny Green says if video games were offered in place of sport, he would pull his kids out of school. "I could think of nothing worse than having my kids stuck indoors in front of a computer and square box," the father-of-two says. "They are inside a school long enough and to put them indoors for sport is disgraceful."

Principal of Belmore South Public School, Gail Dyer, defends her school’s use of four Wii consoles during both PE and music lessons. "We don’t have a tennis court and this [is] as effective as having kids out (playing) on one," she says. "Many of the kids live in apartments, so a lot of them don’t get out to play sports."

Last year, a PE conference held for the NSW Association of Independent Schools had a component focusing on using Wii Sports. It explained how Wii could be used from kindergarten - for dance and gymnastics - right through to HSC topics, such as how biomechanical principles influence movement.

Melinda Turner, a consultant for the Australian Sports Commission, says anything that gets children interested in sport is a good thing. "If this is what has to be done to promote what you can do when you play sport, then that’s fantastic," Ms Turner says.