Challenge Yourself to a Screen Free Week!

Today screens like TV’s, computers, tablets, and phones are being used by our children for hours after they come home at night.  Although screen time may be needed to do homework, we still need to have time to be active!  

This is why May 1 -7th is National Screen Free week where we can commit to putting down our screens and encourage our families to be active.  Screen Free Week can be a time when you can spend quality time with the ones that you love.  

What activities do you and your children like to do the most?  Riding a bike?  Going to the park and kicking or throwing a ball? Trying new recipes at home?

See how many ways you can try to add more family time and less screen time this week:

Create a morning routine that doesn’t involve “Screens”

Instead of turning on the television before school, eat breakfast together as a family. Talk to your kids about their upcoming day, look at the school lunch menu and ask them whether they have tried new foods that they liked.

Enjoy screen-free meals

Make meals a time for your family to talk about the day.  Turn off the TV and encourage family members to keep their phones off the table during meal time.

Create a physical activity routine after dinner

Instead of watching TV, try a new activity as a family each night this week.  If the weather is nice, go for a walk around the neighborhood, take the kids to the nearest playground, or just enjoy the sunset while playing tag with them.  If the weather is rainy, be active inside. Make an activity cube, roll and do the activity that it lands on! Blow up a balloon and keep it off the ground or let your child make up their own game to play.  

Try healthy recipes with the kids!

Make memories that will last a lifetime by spending time with family and friends and making a healthy meal together.  There are many fun, kid-friendly recipes on our Eat Smart Website that your family is sure to enjoy making together.

Going screen free this week can be a lot of fun and a great way to try new activities as a family.  Enjoy your screen free week!!

If you want to learn more about screen-free week: please visit:

http://www.screenfree.org/

http://time.com/4147614/smartphone-usage-us-2015/

Screen Free Week

It’s Screen Free Week! Here are some tips to try with your family this week to get the most out of your screen-free time.

• Make time for physical activity 
  Persuade your child to put down the video game controller or tablet and pick up the basketball instead! Physical activity can include a wide variety of fun and engaging things, such as dancing, jumping rope, riding a bicycle, or playing sports.
  
  

• Get in the kitchen 
  Have your kids join you in the kitchen to help prepare meals! Take this time to experiment with new dishes and fun recipes. Assign different tasks to everyone; one person can gather the ingredients and another can wash or peel the vegetables. You may even discover that your little picky eater has a new favorite fruit or vegetable!
  
  
• Turn TV time into family time 
  Round up the family to eat dinner together. Encourage conversation and discussion! Without the TV acting as distraction, family meal time can be a valuable bonding experience.  Don’t forget to put your cell phone away too!
  
  
• Flex your creative muscles 
  Set up an arts and crafts night! Crafts can include seasonal items, such as spring and summer themed placemats, dream-catchers, and sculptures. Get creative beyond the normal paint and canvas! Try out different art mediums and materials, like clay, paper mache, and wood.

• Enjoy the nice weather 
  Consider taking a family trip to a national park or hiking trail. As the weather warms up, take this opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and appreciate the scenery. Not only is hiking fun and relaxing, it is also great exercise!

With all these different activities, pretty soon you’ll forget that you even had to depend on the TV for entertainment in the first place!

Celebrate Screen Free Week

Screen Free Week is celebrated May 4-10 this year.  This is a time for families to turn off televisions, computers, video games, and other hand held devices and spend time exploring the community.  This week is also a time to enjoy being active as a family.

How to Go Screen Free
The key to success when reducing screen time is to pick a goal that your family can meet. You may choose to start the week by allowing some screen time, with the goal of cutting it out entirely by weeks end.  It is also a good idea for all family members to be able to choose different activities to do during the week.  Write down the ideas on a calendar and put it on the refrigerator or a bulletin board so that everyone can see it.

Below are some of our favorite ways to get the whole family involved during Screen Free Week without hearing, "I'm bored!" from the kids.

• Go screen free together.  Have everyone put their phones or devices in the same basket right by the door when you get home.
• Take turns as the chef in the kitchen each night.  The chef gets to decide the meal and assign jobs to the other kitchen helpers.  Younger kids can help set the table and wash fruits and vegetables, while older kids and adults can chop veggies, write the menu, and serve the food.
• Turn off electronic devices during meals.  Make it a habit to turn your television, tablet, or other electronic devices off during meal times so that the family can talk about their day.
• Go on a nature walk and skip some rocks!  How many skips can you get?  Also remember to look for birds, find a walking stick, and pick some flowers.
• Plan an indoor or outdoor picnic. Involve everyone by giving tasks like finding the perfect picnic spot, picking a blanket, and helping choose the food.  Prepare picnic foods by peeling oranges, counting carrot sticks and scooping hummus, making homemade popcorn, creating fruit kabobs, and making sandwiches or wraps made with nut butters or cheese.
• Explore your local library, nearby parks, nature centers, art galleries, and recreation centers.  Many of these places have free and low-cost activities for all ages.
•  Create a jumping zone or dance floor. Nothing makes kids giggle like seeing their parents jump on the bed or grooving to the beat on the dance floor.
• Play your favorite card games.  Younger kids will enjoy classic games like Uno, Go Fish, and Crazy Eights.  Older kids may enjoy strategy games like Hearts and Spades.

Screen Free Success!

Going screen free can be fun for everyone with a little effort and creativity.  Look for more ideas on how to go screen free at www.screenfree.org.  Have fun!

Unplug, Unwind, and Reconnect with Your Family

Did you know that kids spend as many as 7 to 8 hours each day using technology?  Kids and teens watch TV, use the computer for doing homework, surfing the internet, and for connecting with friends.  They play video games, and talk and text on cell phones too.  Kids are such good multi-taskers they often use more than one kind of technology at a time.  Most spend a total of 10 hours each day plugged in one way or another.

Screen-Free Week is a nationwide opportunity for families to turn off technology and reconnect face to face with each other and extended family and friends.  Mark your calendar for April 30-May 6, 2012.  Take a break from technology and spend some quality family time together.  Limit screen time to 2 hours or  less each day for everyone during screen-free week. Use this time and brainstorm with your family to come up with fun, physically active, and creative things to do together!

•  Turn off the television during family meals
• Take a family walk or bike ride after dinner
• Invite friends over for game night
• Plan a neighborhood fun run or walk
• Organize a spring clean-up effort in your community
• Visit a local park or museum
• Read a story together
• Prepare family meals together -- kids can help too!

Need some more ideas?  Check out these resources for more information about National Screen-Free Week April 30-May 6, 2012.   www.screenfree.org  and www.letsgo.org