Have you ever wondered what would happen to your kids, if you were to unplug all devices for the whole day
And by whole day, I mean WHOLE DAY!
And by all devices I mean ALL DEVICES!
Phones, Laptops, PCs, Tablets, iphones and iPads. Everything. Period.
In this world of technology, where electronic devices are replacing Notebooks, journals, paper, pens, and pencils, it is just simply put; IMPOSSIBLE to live device free.
And I don’t think we should live device free. Electronic devices are not just a source of entertainment. When used correctly, and in moderation, they have the potential to become a beacon of creativity.
But this is not a post about correct usage of technology, or practicing balance. This is a post about ditching all electronic devices for a day.
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Get unplugged!!
I repeat, I am NOT against technology. Nor do I believe that shunning all devices for good is a great idea. Because it’s not. And I would be a hypocrite if I misspoke about all electronic devices because my work is all about it, and with it.
You can hardly be an advocate against technology and then spend 20 out of 24 hours a day on a laptop! That is the exact definition of hypocrisy!!
But wouldn’t it be great to spend one day in a week when you don’t look at any devices?? (And I mean not watching TV or check Facebook either!)
Okay, you would be bored as hell!! But being bored is actually pretty productive. You do things that you normally wouldn’t. For me, that’s painting. Hands down.
The days when I take a complete break, you can find me painting! Admittedly, it takes me weeks or sometimes even months to complete a painting, because I don’t have the luxury, nor the need to paint every day. But when I do, my head gets a real break!!
So being bored is an opportunity to become creative, more productive and clear your head.
Get Bored!!
The question is: Why don’t we want to extend the same opportunity to our kids?
Just because we are scared that all hell would break lose if we allowed them to be bored for even a minute??
Why wouldn’t you hide all cell phones, their tablets, PCs, and unplug the TV for a day. Just simply to give them the opportunity to be bored?
After a 100 rants of “Mom, where’s my tablet” and “Mom, I am so bored” for a hour and a half, you will be surprised at what will happen!
When I did this UNPLUGGED EXPERIMENT for a day, can you imagine what happened after the forsaken hour of cries and tantrums and all hell breaking lose??
This!!
We usually reserve books for bed time stories and sometimes we read during the afternoon quiet time sessions too. But do you know what happened that morning?
My daughter picked up about 10 books from the shelf, placed them beside her on the sofa, and started reading.
Since this was after the hell breaking lose tantrums, and we weren’t really on speaking terms for atleast an hour after that, I quietly observed from the distance, an occasional peak from behind the kitchen counter, and I felt so happy.
I could see her reading and reading and then reading some more! After a while, she brought out some drawing papers and began drawing (indecipherable scribbles but still!!)
That whole day she spent playing with her “forgotten” toys, made up some totally silly yet awesome imaginary games that she would ask us to participate in.
She cooked some amazing “invisible” food in her play kitchen and made us some pretty awesome “invisible” tea!
The important thing to note here is that you too need to participate in this unplugged experiment with them! This means no devices for yourself either! You can’t eat your cake and have it too!
Also, You can’t do this on an outdoor picnic day. You are supposed to do it when you are sitting at home,DOING NOTHING! Because, this experiment is supposed to help you and your kids get bored and thus more productive. When you are spending a day outdoors, even though you are unplugged, you aren’t bored. So do this at home.
NO CHEATING!P.S: Me and my daughter settled our differences and made up after an hour, and were happily playing together. Though I had to talk to her about how I do these things for her own good.
P.P.S: And again, I was surprised when she understood! Sometimes, I think, we don’t give the kids enough credit!
Happy Unplugging!
And while you are at it, Check out some great SCREEN FREE Activities:
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Hi, I’m Alifya. I love doing fun activities with my daughter, Hussaina and write all about it here! My crazy hobbies include:
A. Binge watching Friends upto a point of memorizing it!
B. Watching Air Crash Investigations and Mega Structures on
NatGeo and
C. Reading Harry Potter for the thousandth time!!
