We asked Screen-Free Week 2013 participants for their favorite moments and insights. Here are some of our favorite responses.
“I saw my 9-year-old daughter laying on the floor, just day dreaming. I immediately thought, ‘Oh no, she is bored, maybe she could’…then I stopped myself and just let her lay there…She wasn’t bored, just deep in thought. We don’t always have to be doing something!”
–Kim G., Ivins, UT
“We never got bored…we read a lot of books…the kids’ imaginations went wild with free play.”
–Sarah R., St. Paul, MN
“I liked hearing my kids tell my husband to turn off the TV, because it was Screen-Free Week!”
-Ruthanne Van Buren, Office Assistant at School Based Health Care in South Kortright, NY
“My 5-year-old and I were discussing how nice it was to be screen-free last week, how freeing it is to show our dominance over our computers and electronics (rather than vice-versa). He actually seemed to understand it.”
-Rinny Y., Mother
“My personal favorite SFW moment is the pride I see in the students’ eyes when they tell you about something they did that they wouldn’t have done otherwise.”
–Linda, librarian
“My favorite screen-free moment was when one night, my two children (ages 6 and 9) spontaneously decided to do a giant painting outside…they splattered and whacked – very Jackson Pollock-like!”
-Anonymous
“One of my students entered a class where she was told to get out her computer to work. She told the sub she was not allowed to use the computer because she had signed up for Screen-free Week and she could only read on her Kindle. The sub informed her it too was a screen and sent her to me. I informed her that Screen-free Week applied to outside of class time. She looked so disappointed.”
-Sandra Stiles
“[I enjoyed] parent stories regarding how different their days were with the television off. They were awakened!”
-Jean Goulart, MA, Owner/Program Director of Bundle of Joy Preschool Childcare
“[I enjoyed] finally completing a 1000 piece puzzle with my seven and five year old (it was rather ambitious and took us all week!”
-Sue Fisher, parent, Hayhurst School Wellness Committee
“[I enjoyed] the discussions about what else you can do – and the feedback from parents who heard from their kids when they pulled out their cell phones or their computers – pretty hilarious. The message made it home!”
-Kyla Sweet, Seattle
“Our principal comes in to reward the class with a fun dance (the jitterbug) if we get 100% participation!”
–Anonymous
“It was great to see families playing games with one another at the Family Fun Game Night we hosted. It looked like quality time well spent with one another.”
-Amanda Radzik, Children and Weight Coalition Coordinator
“We went to a fun park, the playground at the mall, the canyon, visited a pet store and tried to play outside more.”
-Anonymous