By Kerri Kreh Reda, M.P.H.
Screen-free week is a worldwide movement that is growing each year. Past participants of screen-free week have indicated that going screen-free was easier than they expected it to be. They also found that they had fewer discipline problems with their children and had more family time for fun. They plan to reduce their family’s time with screens on a permanent basis.
Screen-free week is just around the corner as this year’s screen-free week begins April 30, 2018. What better time to re-connect with family, friends and nature? Families everywhere will be unplugging their screens (computers, televisions, smart phones, tablets, etc.) and rediscovering the joys of life beyond digital entertainment.
Also, consider joining the Wait Until 8th movement. Wait Until 8th is a pledge parents make to wait until 8th grade to provide their child with a smart phone. When parents band together, it alleviates the pressure they and their children feel about having a smart phone.
For great ideas on non-screen activities from the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood, click on the links below:
101 Screen-Free Activities:
http://www.screenfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/101-Screen-Free-Activities.pdf
The Family Guide to a Great Screen-Free Week:
http://www.screenfree.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Familyguide.pdf
Healthy Kids in a Digital World – Preschoolers:
http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/sites/default/files/hkdwpreschoolers.pdf
For more information on Wait Until 8th:
Kerri Kreh Reda, M.P.H., is a Human Development Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. She can be reached at 631-727-7850 ext. 330 or at kkr5@cornell.edu.