Now that most schools are out for the summer, parents are faced with the daily struggle to keep kids occupied and active. In our own childhoods, many of us were shooed out the door with instructions to stay outside until lunchtime, then repeat until suppertime, and repeat yet again until dark.
Unfortunately, that was in the days of greater space and safety for our kids. More people lived on large lots or even on farms, and fewer of us were in apartments or townhouses with no appreciable yard.
And thanks to the news, we know more these days about how many creepy people are out there where we thought we wanted our children to play. All that makes it more difficult to lock the screen doors and let them fend for themselves.
Whatever our living arrangements and regardless of who is drifting through, there are still lots of great ways to
keep our kids active and away from smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles. Kids will grunt and groan about the mandate, but in time they'll get engaged in something and quickly forget about them.
The first thing you need to do is make sure that your kids are outside when the opportunity presents itself, not on the couch or bed swiping and scrolling. Set policies for weather conditions and activity levels that determine when they can utilize their electronic devices.
Here are some starters:
No cell phones outside unless kids are out of earshot. Remember Mom yelling for you to come home? It still works. For safety, longer jaunts necessitate phone access, but otherwise they're a distraction from physical activity.
Technology is allowed when outdoor temperatures reach a certain level. Although many of us just went ahead and sweated it out regardless of the mercury, you can throw your kids one bone to gnaw on by conceding time indoors when it hits, say, 90 degrees.
Or to throw in a science learning lesson, use the
heat index as the parameter and get a thermometer and hygrometer to teach them how to calculate it.
Set up an outdoor/indoor exchange rate. Keep a running tally of the number of active outdoor hours (tanning does not count for teenage girls) for each child, then convert that into a (lesser) number of technology hours that the kids are permitted to have.
Have something to show for it when they come in. If the message around your house is "Take us to the mall!", do some background work to make that happen. Get online and find some Levi's coupons and be ready to go shopping on a rainy or super-hot day.
And speaking of shopping, position them for some future rewards as well. Coupons are already out there for the best Black Friday deals, so a reward five months out can spur their inspiration for an active summer next year, too.
There's no shortage of competition for our kids' time and attention. And there's nothing wrong with yielding here and there. We just can't let it become a habit. Finding some clever, workable ways to manage technology will keep your kids active during their time of greatest freedom.
Jenny Daniels is a freelance writer second, and a busy mom first. When she's not blogging about her children, she enjoys spending time with them in the sun or at the beach.
