Starting Our Unplugged Journey

Have you ever just looked at your life and said, "I am in this phone way too much"? Well, that is what I said about my son and I didn't like it.

I know as his mom I can change that but how do I go about making it an easy transition?

My son loves the phone, computer, tablet, tv and Xbox! You name it, he loves it! However, sometimes I feel he loves it too much!

Over the past few days, I have really been trying to figure out how to break him of his habit! Honestly, I want to break myself too! I can say that I am not as bad as I used to be but I do feel like there is so much life to live! I want us to be able to be in the moment and explore more.

Now I know some of you may be wanting to do the same, so I challenge you to go on this journey with us. You may be asking yourself; how can we do this? How can we entertain our family without technology! Well, I am not saying cut technology out. Give your child some time to watch tv or play their games especially if it makes them happy! My son loves to play online with his friends and I won't take that away. I am just limiting his time!

So, here are a few things that I did to help start our unplugged journey.

The first thing I did was change the time limit to his devices via the Google Family Link App!

He only has 3 hours to play on his devices! Once that time is up, it's up! I love the Family Link app! It allows me to block certain things like YouTube (way too much is happening on the KIDS YouTube that's another story for another day). It allows me to set the time limit as well as the time slots that he can be on the device. If something happens and it needs to be locked immediately, I just log on and lock the device all from my mobile phone!

The next thing I am doing is buying more board games for the house.

My little one isn't quite old enough to play the games I like but there are games out there that are just for him. I feel board and card games are a wonderful way for both us to not only learn but to unplug from technology together. This is also a perfect way for us to have family time and make fun memories in the process.

Next, I searched online for different projects and activities that we can do together.

I looked online to find fun things that he can do to pass the time. He likes to put together his power ranger transformers and I wanted to implement his love for creativity into our unplugged journey. Some of the fun things I found were making glow in the dark jellyfish, making pool noodle boats, rainbow walking and much more. These will be great activities that we can do together or that he can create by himself while I work. I also found fun projects from Home Depot and The Homeschool Scientist websites which serve as both a learning and creative experience.

Now this last step is optional for you. I plan on having a monthly calendar so that I can write down what activity we will do in our no technology time. If you are already doing this, great. However, if you are not, I would suggest that you plan your day especially if you want to have 3+ projects / activities for your family to do. This will help you know what supplies you need for the projects as well as help you stay organized in the process.

Hopefully, this plan to unplug will be a great new tradition in our home. Who knows maybe my son will forget all about his tablet and want to play board games! I will let you all know next week how our first week went so make sure you subscribe to hear about our unplugged journey!