It’s National Screen-Free Week!
Posted on May 5, 2014 in Uncategorized
The current research indicates that children spend too much time with screen media (8- to 18-year-olds consume an average of 7 hours and 11 minutes of screen media per day), screen-time is an identified factor in childhood obesity (according to the American Academy of Pediatrics), screen-time negatively affects children’s sleep, screen-time can undermine learning for babies and young children, even older children are at-risk from too much screen-time, and much more.
What a concept–a whole week without screens. Could your family do it? Here are few tips from screenfree.org to help you get started:
1. Try to get everyone in your family on board for Screen-Free Week. If adults are fully committed, children feel everyone is sharing the experience and is taking it seriously.
2. Decide what “screen-free” means for your family. Does it include email and text
messaging? Are you still going to Skype with family members in another state or country?
There’s no “right” way to do this, but make sure that you’re all clear about what your
commitment will be.
3. Make plans together for the week. Start planning in early April (or sooner) so that by
the time Screen-Free Week rolls around, everything is in place and ready to go. Make sure
that everyone (who can) has a specific responsibility and an equal vote on key decisions.
4. Set a calendar of activities and events for the week. One goal of Screen-Free Week
is to allow kids unstructured time to generate their own screen-free play and activities.
But, especially if this is your first time participating as a family, you’ll want to make sure
that you are not left twiddling your thumbs. It’s most important to schedule some family
activities in the early part of the week so that everyone can adjust to being screen-free. If
you need some help thinking of ideas, check out our list of 101 Screen-Free Activities.
5. Reclaim the family meal as a time for talking together and/or sharing stories.
Plan your meals ahead of time and include the entire family (when possible) in the
preparation and presentation of the meal. Get creative with napkin folding. Are you going
to use candles one night to make that dinner special? Think of different ways to spice up
the evening… maybe a discussion about a book everyone in the family has agreed to read?
6. Include friends, relatives, and neighbors in what you are doing, even if it’s for
just one day or evening. Get together with other families at a park, play organized
games or just hang out!
7. At the end of the week, talk about how you feel, what all of you have
accomplished, and what aspects of the week you would like to keep going. Is it
worth it to make one night a week screen-free, with meals together and a game following
dinner? Would it be a good idea to get together with extended family or friends one day or
evening a week and do something different? The key is to find out how everyone feels, and
share the pluses and minuses—both to figure out how to make Screen-Free Week even
better next year and to reduce your dependence on screens all year round.
Why should we go screen-free? Because…
1. We should focus on these things…”Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9
2. We must be the one’s directing our children’s screen-time…”Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Proverbs 22:6
3. We want good fruit from our families…”For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. ”The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” Luke 6:44-45
4. Everyone around us is on screens. We should want to stand up and stand out. We want our family to be different and be ok with that….”Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2
So, whether or not you decide your family should go screen-free THIS week or not, let’s keep up this conversation. As believers and as parents, we should be aware of screen-time with our kids. We should not see a “screen-free” week as daunting, but as a chance to take a retreat from the patterns of this world, and re-focus, re-energize, and re-connect with those we love.
My love,
