7 Benefits of a Game Room at Home for Stay-At-Home-Moms *

AD | Being a working stay-at-home mom definitely has its benefits. Whether you’re an employee or a freelancer, working from home allows you to stay with the kids while still bringing in an income to help the family financially. Well, that’s the theory anyway… However, speaking from years of experience, the daily distractions (children and partner-related) do make it difficult to remain productive. Compulsory homeschooling, anyone? 🙁 So, if you’re a stay-at-home working mother looking for ways to lessen the pressure, you might just find setting up a game room at home is the perfect answer.

Why a Game Room at home?

Thanks to COVID-19, far more of us work from home nowadays, which means there’s not much of a separation between job and home life. If you want to remain productive, it’s important to take regular breaks during the workday to give your mind and body much-needed time to relax and recharge. However, that doesn’t mean stepping step away from work so you can do chores or tend to the kids. You still need real breaks — ones where you can decompress and give your mind a rest.

Many organisations reap the benefits of investing in a game room for their staff – think of Apple and Google. A game room lets staff blow off steam, boosts employee engagement, and can attract potential talent too. So why can’t stay-at-home moms benefit from a separate space which is exclusively for fun as well? Because striking a proper work-play balance is an essential part of self-care, as well as being crucial for our mental well being.

The benefits of a installing Game Room at home

There are lots of good reasons to consider setting up your own at-home game room, for that ideal work-life balance. Here are some to consider:

• It helps you relax and unwind, effectively reducing your stress levels due to a tough workday. Reducing your stress can help you become more productive overall.
• You get time out for brainstorming when you’re feeling creatively blocked.
• A different space can help you refocus and realign yourself, so you can plan your next steps more effectively.
• It will keep the kids entertained and distracted while you get some work done. Even in the early years, young children’s hand-eye coordination, concentration, and critical thinking skills can all be improved by the presence of a game room at home.
• Moving to another room, even for a short while, means you’re physically active rather than sitting at a desk all day.
• You’ll save money over going out or paying for childcare. A family trip out can cost a small fortune, as can giving teenagers money to go out with friends. Instead of this, let them invite their friends over to your home. This way you not only save money, but you know exactly where your child is and what they’re doing while you’re working.
• A game room will add value to your home. Have you ever wanted a home theatre? All you need to do is leave one wall blank, or install a drop-down screen for the projector. Then simply stream a film or pop on a DVD for the kids, and you’re free to get on with your work again.

A Game Room for your family

But beyond providing benefits for work, game rooms also offer many advantages to your home life by giving you additional ways to bond with your family, depending on what you put in there. Here are a few suggestions for things that would make fantastic additions to a game room:

• Books
• Board games
• Card games
• Family-friendly gaming consoles like the Nintendo Switch*
• Fun exercise equipment
• Ping pong table*

That’s right — a ping pong table!

Why is a Ping Pong table good at home?

If you’ve never played before, it may feel somewhat intimidating, but it’s really not at all difficult to learn table tennis. And, ping pong offers many surprising plus points to you and your family. It’s a sport that you can play on your own (by folding one side of the table against the wall), so easy to fit in on a quick break from work. It’s also a sport that up to four can play, which means if you have a full set of bats* you can play with your kids or other friends and family as well.

Aside from burning calories and helping with fitness, here are even more benefits you may feel when you play table tennis:

• Helps with improving focus and quick decision-making
• Reduces stress
• Improves hand-eye coordination
• Helps develop gross and fine motor skills (great for young kids)
• Gentle on the joints (great for grandparents)
• Keeps the mind alert

Plus, table tennis offers a really fun time to be had by all. You can even run regular tournaments with close family and friends (subject to any health restrictions, of course).

A game room on a budget?

Even if you can’t afford to put together an entire game room at home (or if you don’t have the space for one), it’s still important to create little areas where you can decompress. This could be a corner of your living room, dining room, the spare room, or even the garden. Just remember, the most important thing is to take regular breaks from your desk (and the kids) so you can come back to work feeling re-energised and re-enthused!

Do you work from home? If so, how do you organise your time out and breaks? Do you have a game room at home? If you don’t, is it something you’d consider now, whether or not you have children?

* This is a sponsored post and also contains affiliate links – please see my Disclaimer.