Results from our Screen-Free Week
Our Screen-Free has come to an end.
Let the rejoicing begin!
That’s right – there’s plenty of rejoicing in our house now that Screen-Free Week is over. And not just from the kids.
I’m ready to catch up on Amazing Race, BoardGameGeek, surf the web, and watch a movie. Although I’ve enjoyed a bit more sleep, some good reading time, working in the yard, and playing outside and at the park, I’ve also missed taking some down time watching a show or two.
This isn’t to say that we didn’t have a great week. But we’ll admit that going without for a week definitely had its drawbacks.
So how did it all go?
If you’re going to try going a week without screen time in your family, our first suggestion is that you give your kids adequate warning. Dropping the bomb on them the first day of the week you’re going without doesn’t go over so well. Trust us, we know.
We started the week out nice enough telling the kids about it being Screen-Free Week and how we were going to give it a try. That was quickly met with furrowed brows and moans. But after a few clarifying questions were answered, we were hesitantly ready to roll.
The weather was great for a lot of playing outside and yard work. Jaden and his friend loved chopping down and digging out a dead tree. And Caleb and friend became Green Machine expert stunt men. They also loved going to the park in the dark Friday night with flashlights. And books were in big supply. As far as board games go, we got in a few plays this week, but not a lot.
It turns out that life still moves at a busy pace regardless of screens – full of soccer practices, games, scout meetings and running errands. And with school still in session, getting the kids to bed on time doesn’t leave much time for screens anyway.
We did notice the reduction in mobile games being played that usually happen throughout the day. So in that sense, it was great. Instead of picking up an iPod, they reached for a book to pass a few minutes.
I will admit that when Friday night rolled around, it was tough fighting the urge to plug in a good movie. But a late trip to the park with flashlights helped suppress that urge.
The Outlier
But not everyone in the family took up the challenge. Trevor, our oldest, didn’t join in the experiment. Although his younger siblings got on his case about it, he forged ahead working on some songs he was composing on the computer. He wasn’t ready to make the commitment and let us know. The great thing though is that it still gave us a chance to have a discussion about the purpose behind it all. There weren’t any heated arguments or anything, but we let them each make their own decision. And he was the only outlier.
Or was he…?
Were mom and I screen free after the kids went to bed?
Nope.
It’s not to set a double standard, but it was quickly apparent that we needed screens to keep our responsibilities rolling. While we didn’t watch any TV, we did get on computers for paying bills, managing finances, coordinating scouts and primary, creating flyers, and finding hotels for an upcoming trip.
And for all of that, we’re very grateful for technology and our screens. Running a household and other responsibilities can be greatly aided by screens.
Conclusion
As you can tell from our website, we’re strong advocates for spending more quality, face-to-face time with your family and limiting screen time. But we’re also big proponents of moderation. Anything taken to the extreme can put you out of whack.
We recognize that there are a ton of fantastic opportunities to us in the world through screens. Through screens, we have opportunities to learn and expand our minds by being exposed to many enlightening things around the world. There’s also a lot of mind-numbing drivel.
The answer isn’t to eliminate all screen time. Instead, the answer is to teach the appropriate use of it all and how to choose the good, better, and best use of our time.
So when it comes to screen time, it looks like we’ll just keep chipping away at it. We’ll continue teaching our kids (and learning ourselves) how to better regulate our time with screens and finding an appropriate balance.
And we wish you the best in doing likewise!
The only time we’ve ever done a mostly screen free week was during the great ice storm of (I think) 2009. Our electricity was off so the only thing we had that had screens that we could use were a couple of Game Boys. Once they needed to be charged though, that was over. We played a ton of board games that week.
However, we have an every day rule that is no screen time until 6:00 p.m. so the kids get a lot of outside time and a lot of screen free time every day. I am on my computer right now only because I am supposed to be working but instead, I’m reading your blog, so there’s a little parental cheating/bending the rules here too.
That’s a great rule to have. We’ve tried something similar with waiting until after dinner before any screen time. But what we found is that as soon as dinner was over, we’d lose them to screens rather than time together. So we’ll just keep trying.
I tried it, but I must confess it’s too hard to not watch VeggieTales. I failed.
In any case I think I’ll be trying it again at the end of this month. I should be able to do it since I’ll be on vacation in Utah without a laptop or a cell phone.
Some weeks are easier than others. And when we don’t have access to our normal devices, it does make it easier.
It would work differently if we didn’t homeschool and I didn’t work at home, etc. If we only had a couple of hours a day with them after school, we’d cut it way back.