Do you remember when you were a kid? When you played outside until the streetlights came on? When you occupied your time by reading a book, making up games, riding your bike and just hanging out with other kids? I sure do. I remember a simpler time…when kids actually did a lot of these things without an electronic device anywhere in sight!
Screen-Free Week is a chance for children to read, play, think, create, be more physically active, and to spend more time with friends and family.
Screen-Free Week is right around the corner, May 1-7, 2017, and it’s a great excuse turn off and put away your Smart Phones, Tablets, TVs and Laptops. For seven days, I double dog dare you to get the family off the couch, away from any kind of screen and bring a bit of your own childhood back. And no, this doesn’t mean you have to sit around and stare at each other.
Check out these great ideas to celebrate Screen-Free Week in Des Moines:
- Celebrate May Day by making a May Day Basket at the Altoona Library or take a hike through Brown’s Woods to gather wildflowers then make a May Day basket to take home.
- Visit Living History Farms and learn how pioneer kids survived without electronics.
- Cheer on the boys of summer as the I-Cubs take on Colorado Springs and Memphis this week. (Just don’t stare too long at the jumbotron;)
- Enjoy storytime at Beaverdale Books, Plot Twist Bookstore or Reiman Gardens in Ames.
- Build something at Home Depot’s FREE Kids Workshop.
- Go fly a kite at Kites on the Green in Johnston.
- Get a FREE Comic Book at a local comic book store in Des Moines on May 6th.
- Dust off your bike and go for a ride at the Urbandale Mayor’s Bike Ride.
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Organize your own Screen Free week!!!
You can organize a Screen-Free Week in a classroom or entire school, with a scout troop, faith community, neighborhood association, at your local library, or in any community group. Organizers and volunteers promote the week, reach out to partners, and help children and families discover fun, screen-free activities. Steps for organizing are easy and fun. Download your free Organizer’s Kit to start planning today!
About Screen Free Week
On average, preschool children spend over four and a half hours a day consuming screen media, while older children spend over seven hours a day including multitasking. Excessive screen time is linked to a number of problems for children, including childhood obesity, poor school performance, and problems with attention span.
Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff) is coordinated by Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a national advocacy organization devoted to reducing the impact of commercialism on children. Since the Week’s founding in 1994, it has been celebrated by millions of children and their families worldwide. For more information, visit www.screenfree.org.
Will your family be participating in Screen Free Week, May 1-7, 2017? If so, let us know!!!
