Summer break is now in full swing, and the struggle has become real for parents, as they balance screen time and outside time with their children. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Pokemon Go has helped get people outside, but still with their screens. It is often recommended to have no more than two hours of recreational screen time a day.
Let鈥檚 discuss some ideas of screen-free activities that you can do with your children:
Visit the library. Borrow a book or two while you are there to bring home and read. Find a book series that you can get immersed in over the summer break.
Become a Lego master builder. Dump out the Lego bucket and start building something without the instructions, let the imagination flow. If you鈥檙e not at master builder level, then dig up an instruction booklet and follow the directions together.
Pull out a cookbook and make some delicious treats. And remember to make a mess, not just because it adds cleaning time, which means less screen time, but because baking isn鈥檛 fun unless you make a mess.
Find a body of water. Whether this is a pool or a lake, spend some time splashing around and getting soaked. Plus, if it is a hot day, this is a great way to cool off.
Make art 鈥� painting, drawing, photography, crafting or playing music. Follow what Neil Gaiman said, 鈥淢ake good art.鈥� It doesn鈥檛 have to be perfect, just have fun and maybe learn a little.
Play a game, not a video game, a board or card game. Dust off the game that the family got for Christmas and make it a family night. Maybe consider inviting friends over.
Play a sport. This doesn鈥檛 have to be an organized sport. Just go shoot some hoops, catch a ball, throw a Frisbee, skip a rope or pedal a bike, just to name a few ideas. Again, Wii Fit or Wii Sports doesn鈥檛 count!
Most of all, be creative, have fun together and enjoy the screen-free time. These were just a couple of ideas to get you started in discovering your screen-free activities this summer.
Put the gadgets and controllers down, and have screen-free fun this summer!
