Sunday, September 16, 2012

Technology

August 23, 2012
I am not a fan of technology. It has its place, but I am old fashioned I guess. I like getting mail in the mailbox, not just email. I like reading actual books and magazines, not just looking at them on a little screen. I love not having Facebook or texting as is results in a lot more conversations one on one with people. I love when my kids use there imaginations and create wonderful works of art instead of staring at a TV screen or playing computer games. So enter the reason for my post. 

The girls "screen time" had gotten a little out of control. They were constantly asking to watch movies and play games. The moment we would walk into Grandma and Grandpas house they were asking if they could have there phones or play on the computer. They would ask Dave the moment he walked in the door if they could play Mario together. So we started to "screen time." They are allowed 14 hours a week from Monday thru to Sunday then it resets. This gives them about two hours a day. They can choose when they watch, but when the time is out, they have to find other things to do. 

The first week was interesting. I didn't have to argue with them about it because it was now in there hands which was really nice. By Thursday of that week they were all out. They were not that happy about it, but they ended up playing a lot more outside, coloring, and coming up with lots of fun "pretending" games. An extra perk was that by Sunday we didn't have to have the TV on watching Veggie-tales. Thats all we usually let them watch, but a day without the TV was really nice. By the end of week two they had an hour left on Sunday. We realized that not only were were arguing less about watching tv or playing on the computer, but that we had also taught them to manage time. They would actually think about whether they wanted to use there time watching tv or would rather do something else. It was a great thing to see happen. 

We have now done this a few more weeks and our loving it! They still get there screen time, but there is less fighting and a lot more creativity going on it our house! Try it, it might just make your house a little less filled with technology and you will be surprised how much you like it! 

1 comment:

Kathryn said...

You are one smart Momma! Wish I'd thought of this when David was little!