Screen-Free Week!

According to the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff Week) is “an opportunity for children and families to turn off screens and turn on life!”  Confession time:  in my own home, we are rarely screen free.  In a household of 5, someone (at any given moment) is usually on some type of screen, whether it’s on a computer, watching TV, texting, or playing a video game.  (Then there’s the MP3’s…do they count?)  When my oldest child was small, I monitored the amount of time she spent watching TV, and even tried to make sure the shows she did watch had some educational value.  I was fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom at the time, so at a certain time (once caffeine had entered my bloodstream and cleared the fog out of my not-a-morning person brain), the television would go off and we’d officially start our day.  Then the youngest came along, during the age of a square, yellow sponge.  He tended to watch a bit more television (with the oldest), and although the shows were harmless and entertaining, I can’t exactly say that they were extremely educational.  Fast forward to the tween and teen years.  While we don’t have TV’s in every room, there are definitely enough screens, of every sort, shape, and size to be found in our house.  I find that it’s so easy to get in an electronics rut!  Which brings us to Screen-Free Week!

For the next week, instead of relying on screens for entertainment, make an effort to play, read, daydream, explore nature, and enjoy spending time with family and friends.  Stop by the library and check out book, bring your child to a library program, take a walk, play frisbee, board games, or even start Screen-Free Week a few days early and enjoy a local pool, park, or other activity!

For more information, check out…

http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/factsheets/screentime.pdf

Or for official endorsements (state and national organizations)…

http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek/endorsers.html