Screen-Free Week: How To Survive and Why It's Worth It

Screen-Free Week starts 4/29. If the very notion sends ice through your veins, you’re not alone! But we loved it, and we think you might too. We discuss how to prepare, what to do instead, and why it’s all truly worth it. Learn more: screenfree.org.

Show Notes

We all know it: our kids are on screens too much. And us parents? Well, if you haven't used Apple's Screen Time function yet, prepare to be horrified.

So have you ever considered a cold-turkey no-screens experiment in your home? Screen Free Week is coming up, and it gives us the perfect opportunity to present the idea to our families.

But no, you might be saying. We couldn't possibly. My kids would fight! We need that down time! There's all that candy to crush!

And to that we say, fear not, because we did it first. And we are here to tell you that you won't just find hours of time- you will, as Margaret put it, see entire bandwidths of your children's brains come alive that you hadn't even realized were asleep.

In this episode we discuss how to sell screen-free week to the kids, how to prepare, how to survive, and why we think it's worth it!

Here are links to resources and research discussed in this episode:

screenfree.org

unpluggedfamily.org

screenlifebalance.com

Kevin Roose for NYT: Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain

Taylor Lorenz for The Atlantic: The Hottest Chat App for Teens Is … Google Docs

Daily Mail: Smartphones, tablets causing mental health issues in kids as young as two

Dr. Jean Twenge for The Atlantic: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?

Dr. Jean Twenge for The Conversation: Teens have less face time with their friends – and are lonelier than ever

Dr. Craig Canapari: Prevent Sleep Problems in Kids: Keep Technology Out of The Bedroom

Erika Christakis for The Atlantic: The Dangers of Distracted Parenting