As an early education teacher for the past 25 years and a parent of four children, I have witnessed a change in the way children play: decreased problem solving skills, a lack of compassion toward others, an increase in obesity, a lack of experience with the outdoors and scripted play that lacks imagination.
We’ve been participating in Screen-Free Week as a family for years – for the first time, when our youngest was in preschool, and now this year, with our eldest a teenager.
Students in Alaska went Screen-Free at school. Photo courtesy Kat Sorenson/Peninsula Clarion. During Screen-Free Week, children and families are encouraged to unplug from entertainment screens. But what if children unplugged during the school day as well? From February 26-March 2,…
If we knew then what we know now, we would have deliberately carved out more time for family conversations and activities in real life.
By all accounts Screen-Free Week 2017 was bigger and better for more children and families than ever!
Is your toddler sleeping with his iPad? Is your grade-schooler always playing with your phone? Is your middle-schooler staying inside to play Minecraft every day?
Times have changed. Life is more serious for today’s children: they have learned about the impact of humans on the earth, food allergies, and the need for sunscreen and antibacterial soap.
Have you ever gone to a restaurant with your family in hopes of enjoying warm conversation over a delicious meal, only to be thwarted by the large, distracting television screens in the dining room?
Reading is one of our favorite screen-free activities any time of year, so we’re very excited that in 2017, Children’s Book Week is the same week as Screen-Free Week!
