Screen Free Week Wrap-Up



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I'm sure you're all waiting on pins and needles to hear about how screen-free week went. It actually went really well. I expected the four year-old to have problems, but he didn't. Not once. He didn't ask for a cartoon, he didn't beg to watch a movie. And, when he saw me flip on the TV to check on some recordings, he reminded me that we weren't watching TV during screen-free week. One of the keys was that we had quite a few things planned that took us out of the house, but even when we were just hanging around at home, he found things to entertain himself or he brought out games for us to play.

I probably had a harder time than others in the house. As a stay-at-home mom, I often flip the TV on for company while the kids nap or while I'm working around the house. There were times when I felt lonely. I tried the radio, but it wasn't quite the same. It's not to say I couldn't do it; it just required more getting used to than I expected it to.

Overall, I felt like this was a great activity. I've always tried to limit our screen time, and will continue to do so. I don't see us going completely screen free for our entertainment, but this definitely reaffirms my belief that we can always find something else to do. As spring finally gets rolling here in Michigan (I hope) we'll be spending more and more time outside, so it should get easier to limit our screen time. Then, by the time the dark months of winter roll around, we'll be used to finding other things to do as our default reaction instead of hitting the power button.