If you're concerned that your kids spend too much time glued to a TV screen while playing video games, there are some fun alternatives that the whole family can enjoy. I am talking about electric RC cars, those radio controlled toy cars that come in various sizes and prices. My kids have a number of them and probably get as much or more use out of them than of their PlayStation. Here are some of the games we play with our radio control cars:

Road course:

Here we are simulating a road-racing course for our remote control cars! Go to an empty parking lot or a similar place where you have a slot of space to run the cars. Outline a course using sidewalk chalk and mark the curves with pylons, sneakers or anything else that will stay put. Make the course interesting, but not overly complex (unless your kids are older and appreciate a challenge). Make sure it includes a long straight to let the cars run. Determine how many laps the race will be. Then it's, "Gentlemen, start your engines!"

Obstacle course:

This one is for older kids who have good hand/eye coordination. You don't need as much space for this as you do for a road course; even a driveway will do. Again using sideway chalk, design a fairly challenging course with six to eight obstacles. Be creative with the obstacles. They can be chicanes where the cars have to slow down and negotiate several curves, they can be gravel pits for the cars to go through, they can be bottlenecks that can only handle one car at a time, they can be ramps or steep inclines, or whatever else you can think of. Run the obstacle course like a road course with so and so many laps, or do time trials. Make sure the RC cars used are able to handle the obstacles.

Stunt course:

For some thrilling fun, build a stunt course! Mark the course on a driveway or in a backyard and include three or four stunts. Stunts can be ramps the cars must jump over, obstacles they must crash into or punch out of the way, rollovers, drops, or any other daredevil challenge you can think of. Points are awarded for successful stunts, and the driver with the most points wins! Warning: just like with real stunt driving, cars may get damaged. So pick sturdy, rugged RC toy cars for this one.

RC Sumo:

To RC Sumo, use sidewalk chalk to mark a circle with a diameter of about six times the length of the cars that will participate. Two cars play at a time, and the challenge is to drive the opponent out of the ring. A match is won as soon as two wheels of one of the cars are outside of the ring. Determine the winner in best-of-three or best-of-five challenges. For really wild action you can make the ring somewhat larger and have four or more vehicles compete, with the last one inside becoming the winner!

There are, of course, many other games you can play with electric RC cars, but the above will get you going. My family loves the RC car challenges and I love thinking up new games and course for the kids to enjoy.