What to Do When Screen Time for Kids Is Bad is one of the summer issues that I have been contemplating lately. Normally, my parenting style is more “let the kids do what they want to do after they do what they have to do”. That’s why I’m fine with the boys watching television and movies as well as playing appropriate video games. Since both of my sons do really well academically and behavior-wise during the school years so far (knock on wood!), my husband and I try to keep the summer months as laid-back as possible. This summer is different though because we need to limit our 9-year-old son Sean’s screen time based on the recommendation of his optometrist.
The prior time that Sean’s eyes were checked, his eye doctor recommended up to 3 hours a day of screen time. Fine. Unfortunately, Sean’s eyesight has gotten a little worse, so the doctor is now recommending only up to 2 hours a day on average. (It’s fine if we want to watch a movie that’s a little longer but that would be it – no tablet, computer or phone games – for that day.) That’s why I’ve started to come up with some things that we can do as a family so that we won’t miss the screen time. Although my 12-year-old son Michael has perfect vision, his screen time is going to be limited also just because what effects one person in the family effects us all. (Granted, I’m going to have more screen time because I work online but I’m going to try to get more of my work done when the kids are asleep this summer.)
Anyway, below are some of the non-screen entertainment sources that we will be focusing on this summer:
7 Fun Non-Screen Things to Do This Summer
1. Books: The boys love books, so that’s a plus. They have recently started being interested in comic books, so that is another great option.
2. Board games/traditional games: Last summer, Reggie and I taught the boys to splay Spades. We taught them a little too well, because they were the first team to beat us! This summer, Sean mentioned that he wants to teach me to play chess. We also have a lot of board games. (I’ll do a separate post sharing our favorite ones.)
3. Sports: The boys enjoy playing sports – especially soccer and basketball. Since my husband Reggie is a teacher/has the summer months off from work, they can do more of that.
4. Walking: We started doing family walks last summer. It’s a good time to pick those back up.
5. Cooking Classes: The boys enjoyed learning how to cook some basic things last summer. We can do more of that.
6. Explore the city: There are so many fun things to do in NYC (including free and low-cost activities) – from museums, to concerts and the theater. We should be just fine.
7. Travel: We are already planning on going to Virginia in July for a family reunion but I’ll see if we can fit in some more “close-to-home” getaways too.
If you have any other non-screen suggestions for the summer, definitely let me know. Thanks!