On July 24, we announced to the kids that it was the first day of our "screen-free week." The rules were:
* No TV, movies, video games, or computer usage.
* The only exceptions: Dad could only use the computer at work, and Mom could only use the computer after the kids were in bed, only for necessities.
Instead of their usual reward of Wii time for getting their jobs done, the kids got to go swimming or play a board game. Personally, I think the kids liked the change, and I heard little to no complaining, plus none of the meltdowns that regularly accompany bad performance on an important Wii task.
Traditionally, Friday night is family movie night, but on screen-free week we had fun camping with Justin and Shari's family up on Mt. Lemmon instead, and were treated to an adventure as exciting as any Wii game as a roaring thunderstorm dropped 2 1/2 inches of rain on us overnight!
Here's what the kids had to say about the week:
Adam: "I didn't hate it, but it wasn't really my favorite thing. I liked not having to worry about who got a turn to play and when they got to play. I just liked it when nobody was staring at the screen all day."
Heath: "I didn't really, really, really hate it. It just seemed like a normal week when we didn't have the Wii or any screen."
Ian: "It pretty much seemed the same as any other week, except not the thrill that you unlocked something on a Wii game."
The eye-opener for me was how much time I spend staring at a screen. Workout videos or Wii Fit first thing in the morning, then email, online shopping, paying bills online, reserving and renewing library books, tracking money on Quicken, keeping a record of memorable things the kids do and say in Word, looking up phone numbers and addresses, keeping shopping lists on Cozi, listening to Pandora, of course keeping up on everyone's blogs, and maybe something on my Netflix instant queue before bed. Of course, each time I connect with the computer, other useful or entertaining distractions are likely to pull me away from my real life for some period of time.
The verdict: It was not that difficult for the kids. They felt good about spending more time on other activities and having more quality family time. There were fewer meltdowns. I loved the time I saved by only getting on the computer once per day (and the fact that my kids didn't have to compete with the computer for my attention). This is definitely a tradition we'll keep.
