WOW! Thanks so much to all those who hopped through our Summertime Blog Bash last week! Check out that post to see who won the 21st Century K Giveaway!
By far, most of you are ready for some relaxing summer days full of sleeping in and good books. Me, too!
My girls and I created our family "Summer Bucket List" last week and are already in full swing planning our activities. Every year we display it in a new way... this year it is piece of "Subway Art" hanging on the fridge.
On the first of our many snow days this winter I quickly realized that our entire family needed screen time restrictions. Usually we are so busy with school, church, family, and extracurricular activities that there isn't much need for limitations, but, oh boy, when all five of us were home all day it was obvious we needed an intervention! We had mandatory screen-free times on snow days, but I knew we needed more for summer.
Thankfully, I ran across a couple of great ideas on Pinterest, (Of, course!) and sort of meshed them together to create my own.
I really wanted a positive spin so I developed this list of ways to earn screen time...
IF (and that's a big one) my nine- and five-year-olds do all the activities on the list in one day they will earn 2.5 hours of screen time for that day. It seems like a lot until you consider this includes ALL screens (TV, Xbox, Kindle (reading is set to unlimited time), iPad, etc.). Combine that with the fact it will take at least 2 other hours to complete the list and the fact we are in and out of the house with other summer activities everyday and you have a plan that works for our family.
Now, if only I would follow this advice myself... blogging doesn't count, right? ;) Just kidding - try to save my screen time until a time when my kids are napping, out of the house, or are sleeping.
What works for your family?
How do you hold yourself accountable to your screen time rules?
My kids have a checklist of summer "chores" similar to the heart you have for your kids. There is 1 hour of outside play and 30 minutes of screen time on the list to start with. If they finish all the chores on the list they can have "unlimited" screen time for the rest of the day. Of course with all that is on their list and all we do in a day in the summer Unlimited usually only means an extra hour. :)
ReplyDeleteOur youngest just graduated college, so we're out of this loop. Maybe I should apply your list to myself.
ReplyDeletehttp://joycelansky.blogspot.com/