Turn it off Tuesday

We have noticed that our kids are getting too much screen time. It could be the computer, a movie, kindle, or smart phone. They are masters at convincing us that they are researching and viewing educational material. Which they are, but still it is a screen. They also justify their screen time with having rode their bikes for an hour before their request, or read three chapters in a book, walked Pancho and the neighbors dog around the block, or just played basketball for an hour. Since they know physical exercise is very important. Our response to all of this is "ok, just set you timer so you don't loose track of time on the screen" Another useful tool in learning the concept of time. I feel that we do have a balance, yet there are days when we should just have no screen time at all, or even a vacation from screens. (i heard a lot of moaning when I mentioned this!) For now we are starting off with Turn it of Tuesdays at our house. Last week was our first day of officially choosing a day and sticking with it. What we did instead...a bit of complaining and whining, then some arguing, and then...cookies! Now you see how happy these two are! This is however a normal occurrence in our home (happy faces that is) But the intentional plan to do something different can be hard and needs a little inspiration and I know baking will certainly help with keeping these two engaged. Next was swimming at Highland Pool to burn off that stack of cookies we all ate! Good times with no screens required. At the end of the day they were both glad we did it and agreed to another Turn if of Tuesday next week.