Keeping kids unplugged from devices during the summer is challenging yet rewarding. Coming up with practical and engaging ideas to create a tech-light summer takes planning, structure and often advice from professionals. Because summer is less structured, the reliance on tech to engage kids at home can create conflict around devices that are hard to put down. On days or weeks when there are no camps, no outdoor trips or activities, screen time is inevitable and harder to monitor. During the summer months, a plan for chores, play time, meals and monitored screen time is not only a healthy approach – it is vital for developing children.
The plentiful days of summertime sunshine in Central Oregon offer endless opportunities to enjoy the regions many lakes, river activities, parks, hiking trails and pools. When it’s too hot or smoky to be outside, there are even options for inexpensive and tech free indoor activities (see sidebar).
With concerns over what has become the norm for kids’ tech use and access, Ami Formica and Brooke Mues co-founded an advocacy group and made it their mission to develop a group for parents who are interested in delaying smartphones and social media until high school. They began to initiate small parent listening sessions and meetings to facilitate discussions about the topics surrounding children and technology. Through these meetings and their eventual “Healthy Tech Talk” presentation, they quickly realized how much common ground parents shared, and how essential it is for parents to find support. “Well Wired is a healthy tech advocacy group and family community,” says Formica and Mues. “We engage in parent and child education, community support, and school advocacy. We consider the issue of addictive technology in our lives to be one of the greatest parenting challenges of our generation,”
During the summer, each family faces different challenges, but screen use is one of the biggest and most common challenges. Even with planned no-screen activities, it can often feel like the day begins and ends with an iPad, video games or endless TV watching. “Instead of positioning ourselves against tech, we encourage families to learn about the tech in their lives, how it works, how it keeps kids hooked, and how it makes them feel before, during and after use,” explain Formica and Mues. “We encourage families to think critically about tech and to use it as a tool when appropriate, but also to set healthy limits and boundaries.”
Important Messages from Well Wired
Parents often ask Well Wired about general screen time guidelines. Our common answer is one to two hours per day maximum, less if possible. Another question is the differences between devices (i.e., the effects of video gaming versus iPads versus smartphones versus TV shows), and ideas for alternative types of devices to use for more basic communication (i.e., simple phones or watches or home phones instead of smartphones), and when to give them to their children. Parents express concerns about social media for their kids, and confusion about navigating decisions of age and access. Many families want to wait longer for certain tech but feel unsure how. Families also express concerns about iPad use in their children's schools. Many parents also wonder about parental control and how to have conversations with their kids about setting limits.
“One main message we convey to kids and parents is that most modern technology is designed to be highly addictive, with sophisticated algorithms and persuasive design features that maximize the dopamine production in our brains,” they continued. “This is something to be alert to and wary of. This also makes it challenging to use devices and apps as tools only.
Our second message is that we all need more limits and boundaries around addictive technology, so that we prioritize relationships and develop in-person connections. This is especially important for adolescents. Real life learning is hard and often doesn't come easily, unlike many of our experiences on devices.
It’s important for parents to recognize that kids don’t need to be entertained all the time. They also need screen-free activities. This is something many child psychologists have expressed to us: kids truly need time away from devices, to be bored, to experiment creatively, to help around the house, to feel useful. This might mean more mess and less quiet in the home. This might lead to other adjustments around expectations and what home life or down time during the summer look like.”
In short, help your kids thrive by helping them intentionally step away from technology and rediscover the gifts of imagination and play. Here's to an unplugged summer!
WellWired.org
Schedule an Unplugged Saturday
7:00 a.m. – Breakfast & Chores
8:00 a.m. – Home Art Camp (paint, make friendship bracelets, etc.)
Noon – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Water play at McKay Park
3:00 p.m. – Ice Cream at Ben & Jerry’s
3:30 p.m. – Movie, puzzle or reading
5:00 p.m. – Family dinner
6:30 p.m. – Family walk or game night
Just a few of the many Indoor Activities in Bend
High Desert Museum * Rally Recreation * Trampoline Zone * Mountain Air * Bend Parks and Rec Pools and Parks * Play Theory Café * Bend Rock Gym * Sunriver Nature Center * Children’s Museum Pop Up Events * Deschutes County Libraries * Central Oregon Gymnastics Academy * Impulse Elite Cheerleading * And so much more…
Backyard Fun
Cornhole * Ping Pong * Badminton * Obstacle Course * Horseshoes * Ring Toss * Kickball * Scavenger Hunt * Water Balloons * Slip n Slide * Lemonade Stand * Backyard Campout * Backyard Movie Night
"It's important for parents to realize that kids don't need to be entertained all the time..."
"Kids truly need time away from devices... to feel useful."