The Best Week of the Year!

By: Sara Adelmann

On May 4-10, thousands of people around the world celebrated Screen-Free Week. Thanks so much to all the SFW organizers who rallied their families, schools, and communities to participate.

Screen-Free Week Everywhere

From Washington to Florida-and places in between, organizers dreamed up all sorts of fun events and activities. There were ukulele lessons in Chehalis, WA, building castles and skyscrapers from recycled materials in Brooklyn, NY, and a variety of daily activities including a scavenger hunt, LEGOs, board games, and crafts in Homewood, IL. Communities such as Irving, TX and Battle Creek, MI hosted a screen-free event each day of the week.

Internationally, students and others unplugged for the week in Morocco, Italy, and Australia!

For media coverage of the week, be sure to check out our press page.

Villa Villekulla Toy Store Fernandina Beach, FL

What You Enjoyed Most

Spending time outside… Hiking… Family bike rides… Peace in a quiet room… Imaginary play… Puzzles… Frisbee… Badminton… Walking the dog… Writing comics… Walking… Playing softball… Playing Checkers… Reading… Making forts… Karaoke dance parties… Cooking… The feeling of being disconnected, doing my own thing… Rediscovering old toys… Jumping on the trampoline… Going for a drive… Making up stories… Making up games… Playing with boxes… Pretending!

Did you participate? We’d love to hear from you. Please send us your SFW stories and pictures. If you’re on Facebook, you can also post them here.

Aha Moments!

Mattson family Saint Paul, MN

“My 7 [year old] gave me a big hug when I said I wasn’t going to use my phone, which was a little bit of a wakeup call.”
– Jen Seavey Dauer

“Consciously choosing to turn off really made me realize how routine it is to grab for my phone. But guess what? The world did not stopjust because I did not update my status, post my current pictures, or ‘like’ friends’ posts!! Lol!!”
Kathie

“Every year, I’m met with resistance from my kids, especially the older ones, but it always turns out to be one of the best weeks. We get along better than we normally do, there’s less arguing and we spend a lot more time just talking to each other and laughing like I remember doing when I was younger.”
Kristen Stanford

Making It Last

From Jenn Riggs

We hope the week inspired you to make reducing screen time an ongoing reality. Check out these resources and handouts to get started:

  1. 10 Steps to Screen-Proofing Our Homes-From rearranging the furniture to setting limits, simple steps you can take to make your home less screen-centric.
  2. Family Meals: Let’s Bring Them Back-Why screen-free meals are so important.
  3. Working With Your School to Reduce Screen Time-What schools can do, from turning off Channel One to making reducing screen time a wellness priority.
  4. Tips for Families on Limiting Screen Time-Facts and tips for limiting screen time from Kaiser Permanente.
  5. Helping Babies Entertain Themselves Screen-Free: An Introduction-Screen-free ideas that encourage independent play.
  6. Healthy Kids in a Digital World: Preschoolers-Tips, facts, and screen-free activities to help the preschoolers in your life unplug.

Even more resources can be found here.

Save the Date for 2016: May 2-8

Mark your calendar: Next year’s celebration is May 2-8. Join us on Facebook to share and gather tips, news, and research about screen time all year.