If you have't heard, April 30 to May 6 is Screen-Free Week, which means that your kids are supposed to give up TV and entertainment computer time for 7 whole days. Instead, they're supposed to "unplug and play, read, daydream, create, explore, and spend time with family and friends."
What a bunch of baloney.
If you ask me, Screen-Free Week -- the brainchild of the Campaign for a Commerical-Free Childhood -- is everything that's wrong with our country today.
It's a (very) temporary band-Aid on a very big boo-boo. Kids should be unplugging, playing, and daydreaming EVERY day of EVERY week. Not just one special week every year. Because let's face it, kids who do watch TV and play computer games have already smoked the crack pipe. They're going to hate Screen-Free week. All week long, they're going to drive their parents crazy. They'll try to sneak on the computer and turn on the TV when no one's paying attention. And if these kids are usually watching TV and playing computer games in their free time then it's very likely no one is paying attention anyway. And as soon as Screen-Free Week is over, they'll be back to their old habits and mom and dad will be more relieved than they are.
It's kind of like taking a kid who eats junk food all the time and putting him on a one-week crash "healthy" diet. All of a sudden he's told he has to eat fish, veggies, fruits, and beef (the real thing not the McDonald's version) for a WHOLE WEEK. Of course he's going to complain and hate it. Of course he's going to make mom and dad miserable and wish they never insisted on this one-week healthy diet and of course he's going to go straight back to eating all that crap once the week is up. (Hey, lots of adults do the same thing when they go on diets.) The point is, your child should be eating healthfully all along. He's not going to learn how to eat healthfully in a week. That's why crash diets fail. Being healthy is a lifestyle not a week-long endeavor.
Similarly, no kid is going to be weaned from TV or Facebook in a week and realize the wonders of a Screen-Free world. It's too late, he's already addicted. Mom and Dad should have exposed him to those wonders years ago -- should have cultivated his imagination, and let him figure out how to entertain himself when he was bored. Kids need to be given the benefit of the doubt that yes, they are smart enough and creative enough and curious enough to keep themselves occupied while mom is making dinner. Don't sell your kid short. Throw out your TV.
Just think, given the time and space to explore and use his OWN imagination every day, your kid could grow up to be the next Walt Disney.
Image via MelvinSchlubman/Flickr
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Comments 30
I think if you don't have any of those things to help entertain them then you will have to fill in where they can't come up with something to fill that time other than homework or playing outdoors.
It's all about the moderation. If our society knew how to practice true moderation, this wouldn't be an issue.
I agree that kids need to watch less TV and spend more time playing and just being children, but sometimes it's ok to just veg in front of the TV. My older daughter spends all day at school, playing and running, interacting with other kids, and exploring new ways of doing things. When she gets home, she is tired out, and a little time in front of Jake and the Neverland Pirtates is all she needs to unwind and relax. I'm ok with that as long as she doesn't become a total slob
Oh wow, wah wah, imagine a week of having to actually play with your children, pay attention to them, play dress up, read books, fly kites, make sock puppets, make home made play dough, cook, play catch, finger paint, how awful, yeps, how truly awful....
and yes, when my kids were little, we DIDN"T have a tv, except to watch movies on the vcr, and we DID do all those things, as well as go bike riding, and canoeing, and fishing and hiking and camping, and so many more things, and wow did we have fun!
We stoped all screen time with our kids a couple years ago and its been amazing watching the change in them. Wouldent agree with the cutting remarks in this totaly, but I see the beauty in screen free life for kids.
Way to miss the point!
The reason they promote doing a screen free week is so people get a taste of all they miss by zoning out into technology all the time. I imagine more than a few parents will change how they do things when they see how sad it is that their 8 year old doesn't use his imagination as much as he could or that the toddler can make all kinds of amazing discoveries without the tv on.
Just like those reality shows, like Frontier House, there is a lot to be learned about ones self when you unplug...
I watched my fair share of TV as a kid. Maybe an hour some days, maybe more on others. I grew up to graduate from an Ivy League university and I currently watch almost no TV. I don't think it ruined me or stunted me. I think in some cases it helped develop my curiosity and awareness of the world. I never liked totally stupid programs though. My baby currently watches maybe 30-60 (max) minutes of TV per day. Probably 2 days per week he doesn't see anything on TV but his grandma shows him some clips on youtube (of his favorite songs) so I can't say he is really "screen free." Maybe once a week he is screen free. Anyway, this has helped him learn his numbers and alphabet and I can't think that it's harmful. I am going to do my best to keep him away from video games though.