The screen-free swap box
The hard part of turning off a screen is the empty minute after. In 30 minutes you and your kid pack a box with ten things to do instead, each one ready to start without hunting for parts.
- Time
- 30 min
- Cost
- $0
- Ages
- 3 to 10
- Where
- Kitchen table
What you need
- A shoebox or bin with a lid
- Zip bags or envelopes, one per activity
- Index cards or paper and a marker
- Ten activities' worth of stuff from around the house (see the steps)
- Crayons or stickers to decorate the box
Before you start
- Think about little siblings. With a child under 3 in the house, keep small parts like beads, small blocks and marbles in a separate box up high. Small parts are a choking hazard under 3.
- No balloons in the box. Uninflated or broken balloons are a choking hazard for kids under 8. Save balloons for when you're right there.
- Kid tools only. Kid scissors and glue sticks. No craft knives, hot glue or button-battery gadgets in a box kids open on their own.
Steps
- Pick and name the box. Find a box and let your kid decorate and name it.
- Brainstorm ten. List ten screen-free things: build, draw, move, laugh, quiet, and one to do with you.
- Pack each one ready to go. Pack each activity in its own bag with everything it needs, so nothing has to be found.
- Write a card for each. Write or draw one card per activity with a one-line way to start.
- Set the swap rule. When screens end or someone's bored, pull a card and try it for ten minutes. Join in at first.
- Restock on the weekend. Every week, swap out the two least-picked activities for two new ideas.
If it stalls
- If they say everything in the box is boring, let them be bored for a few minutes. Boredom is often where they come up with their own idea.
- If turning the screen off is the hard part, give a five-minute warning, then hand them the box as the screen goes off.
Cards pulled this week
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date