Welcome To Screen Free Week – This Will Hurt Us More Than It Will Hurt Them

Today is the start of Screen Free Week and we’re going to give it a run as a family. Now seeing as my wife and I have digital work responsibilities to attend to that pay the bills, we’ll try to limit the screen time to regular office hours and after the kids are in bed. The rest of the week, we’ll have music, outside time, books, board games, crafts, and activities.

This is going to hurt us more than it hurts them.

Last week our oldest needed some discipline. The timeout is no longer an option for this almost 5 year old, so we’ve transitioned to removing privileges.

That meant no TV or iPad for the rest of the day due to his morning transgression.

Can you (or your kids) survive Screen Free Week? Find out the shocking stats of screen obsession after the jump.

Yes, I admit it, my wife and I use gadgetry as a digital pacifier. Everyday at 4p they can watch a show while I make dinner. After bath they can chillax again with a movie before bed.

Sure, we have a basement full of toys, but kids don’t play with those – do they?

Screen Free Week is an initiative from The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. The event started as “TV Turn-Off” in 1996, but has since adapted the message to include all screens. Video games, iPods, iPads, and TVs.

According to stats provided on the Screen Free Week website, young children spend, on average, more than 32 hours a week watching television, playing video games, and using computers, and nearly 1/2 of babies under one are in front of a screen for 2 hours a day.

Think about Caine’s Arcade. Caine’s dad didn’t just let him spend the summer sitting in his office with a gameboy. He forced his son to ‘be bored’ and create his own entertainment. He let his son’s imagination grow, because he actually let him use it. That’s what Screen Free Week is about to me. I’m going to force my kids to be bored so they’ll entertain themselves instead of looking for something with batteries to tell them what to do

I’ll be posting a variety of activities this week that will be non-screen related, as well as giving updates on my family’s attempt at turning off the tube.

Personally, I’d rather we had signed up for the 7 Days of Sex Challenge. What about you? Will your family go Screen Free this week?

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