We did it! We had our screen-free day and turned all the screens off for 24 hours. We put aside modern society for a day to remember the basics of family life. It was quite refreshing. The house felt quieter (despite the children’s noise), slower. We entertained ourselves, rather than letting technology entertain us. We talked, we played, we had fun.
Before we started this, we explained to the children about having a screen-free day, that there would be no television, no computers, phones etc. We were to spend good quality family time.
Here is what we got up to…..
Our screen-free day
Now, I don’t know about you, but first thing in the morning with little ones can be tough, especially when they are early risers. For this reason, after breakfast was free play. All three children chose a jigsaw, sat down and worked side by side, with BB helping his sisters out when needed, it was quite comforting to watch siblings encouraging and supporting each other.
As a family, we place a large emphasis on the importance of sitting down eating a meal together. Therefore, we decided to all cook the dinner as a family. Daddy taught the children about roasting a chicken, while everyone helped make the marinade to go on it. The kids were captivated learning about the chicken, how you cook it etc and asked loads of questions. Children can be so inquisitive.
The vegetables got peeled and chopped by all the children. Mummy and daddy’s hearts were in their mouths during this, as the girls got rather excited with being given grown up tasks to do with knives!! (under very close supervision!). BB became quite an expert at peeling and was rather proud of himself at how fast he managed it. We had a fantastic production line going.
Once the main meal was prepared and in the oven, we started on the pudding…..’apple scrumble’. It’s actually apple crumble, but one of my girls once called it apple scrumble, we liked it, so it stuck. Everyone peeled and chopped apples, then got their hands messy rubbing in the butter and flour. That is always a winning activity with my children.
Once it was all cooked, we sat down at the table together to eat our lovely meal, we had all prepared.
After our delicious dinner, it was time for some fresh air, so out came the scooters and off we went for a local walk. The children scooted (most of the way). We went through the park, through some puddles and they enjoyed racing each other along the paths.
It is amazing, no matter how many times you do something, children always seem to find something different. BB got off his scooter and became very excited, saying he’d found a den. He spent ages investigating the area, using his imagination, envisaging how wonderful it could be. I must admit, I was struggling to see his vision myself, but hey, if he sees it as a den, great!
The girls became excited picking daisies. I couldn’t believe it, picking daisies in January! This was not the sort of walk I had predicted it to be, but that’s the most amazing thing about children, everything turns out different….variety is the spice of life as they say.
Next, was our family challenge. I had been saving up toilet roll and other tubes for a while with the idea to make a marble run. I thought this would be something we could all do together.
We had lots of fun trying to achieve a working marble run. Daddy over engineered his one, took ages to set it up, while mummy stuck to nice and simple, took only a few minutes to make and lasted the longest (Yes!! Not that I’m competing of course?!). The children (and grown ups) spent some considerable time playing with them. You can read more about the marble run fun here.
There was more outdoor play in the garden before tea. Lots of laughter, giggles and chatting was heard.
We thought we’d introduce the children to a family game of jenga. We hadn’t played it for a long time. I had forgotten how much fun it is. The children managed it surprisingly well, with the little ones only needing a small amount of help. It is definitely a game we will get out to play as a family again.
Lastly, we always like to end the day with a story. We all sat on cushions on the floor under a blanket, snuggled up tight reading a few stories together before bed.
It was a very pleasant day, embracing family life.
I would highly recommend having a screen-free day, we will be hoping to undertake this three or four times a year now. We like to be reminded of the important things in life, slow down and focus on family and children.
