I Hope You Like Reading . . .
.. Because our
internet is so slow, uploading pictures to the blog is like a day-long ordeal.
And it’s already been (quite) a day, so you get to read instead.
I read an article once a year or two ago about a family that
had an annual ScreenFree week in their home. They put away tablets, computers,
TVs, SmartPhones, etc and focused on spending more time with each other. For
some reason that idea stuck with me, so Jacob and I decided to try it out with
our family.
Compared to other homes, I’m sure our screen time is
limited. We don’t own a TV. The only computer we own is a desktop (actually,
neither one of us have ever owned a laptop. . . .how about that?!). Our phones
are basic talk-and-text phones. We have one tablet that we got for free and
kind of by accident. In regards to social media, we don’t have Twitter,
Instagram or Tumblr accounts. We’re not much into news channels or Pinterest (I
use that for the occasional Christmas gift and/or recipe ideas), and our
YouTube use is to listen to certain songs that we don’t own. (And Studio C sketches.) And actually, our
computer pretty much is our main method of listening to music now that I think
about it . . .
Buuut . .. I’m sure I’m not the only one gets sucked into
the computer. What is it about Facebook in particular that just sucks time and
energy away from you? You scroll and scroll the newsfeed and maybe once in a
while you actually look up or message something semi-important. My
well-deserved mom-guilt kicks in when I realize I’ve been sitting at the computer for
too long and (shall I say) ignoring my kids. Granted, maybe I was doing
something worthwhile. . .checking my bank account, writing a weekly email to my
family, looking for some home-schooling ideas, finding new recipes, etc. But
also a good percentage of that time was also probably on Facebook.
Well, this week, I put the mommy guilt on the shelf and I
spent some real time with my kids. Of course, this ScreenFree week corresponded
with sick kids and rainy weather, the two biggest components that made it a
little more challenging. ;)
All in all, this past week was awesome.
We played outside. We went to McDonald’s and played on the play
place (for a good two hours!). We went to the school book fair. We read books.
We learned about seeds and plants. We learned lots of new songs and song games.
We went for a drive to the riverbed to find rocks for the garden bed. We
barbecued. We played games. We played the piano more. We played outside some
more. We read more books. We played with puzzles. We played with magnets. We
did a counting game or two. We visited the library twice. We colored. I did
some deep cleaning (which was necessitated by the vomit and diarrhea). We
cuddled. We tickled. We laughed. We read some more books. We rocked. And rocked
some more. We played with a big tub of recyclables that I’ve been collecting. Jacob
and I praised our children more and gave them fewer time-outs. We did laundry.
We fed the missionaries. I pulled out my paper copy of the scriptures to read.
I handwrote my journal (Heck, I journaled! That’s a biggie!). I used my
trusty-dusty cookbooks to find recipes instead of searching online. I called my
sister-in-law on the phone to say hi instead of just emailing. Any school work
that Jacob needed to do on the computer was done at school instead of at home.
Again, I say. This week was awesome.
We will do this every year. I think my kids are still a
little too young to understand all of what’s going on. Every so often Laura
would ask for a dancing song or a princess song (AKA a YouTube video), but when
I gently reminded her that we were doing ScreenFree week, we were easily able
to find another activity to do. But for me as a mom—this was one of the most
rewarding weeks I’ve had.
I’m not saying screentime is bad. You can use it for so many
good and awesome things. But sometimes . .. you just gotta simplify once in a
while.
No comments:
Post a Comment