Exactly two weeks ago, the kids were being super douchey, and I let them know they had lost all electronics for that weekend.
And then, upon further contemplation, I made a proclamation.
No more electronics for the kids during the week.
I just wanted to give you an update.
Initially, the kids accepted this new arrangement fairly well.
But I think they thought I would change my mind and cave after only a day or two.
Number 6 knew I was serious, though.
But being only 4 years old, his concept of “the weekend” is still a little unclear.
So every day for eight days, he would wake up, run downstairs, and ask, “IS IT THE WEEKEND TODAY?”
Last weekend was the first time they regained access to the Kindles and the iPad and the iPod.
And they went a little crazy. Total electronic overdose on Friday night and Saturday.
I was a little concerned.
I mentioned this to Number 6’s preschool teacher.
She reads the blog, and so when Number 6 kept asking her if it was the weekend yet, she understood why.
She assured me that the binging when they made it successfully to the weekend would self regulate.
And you know what?
She was right.
Even by Sunday, they had lost interest a little bit.
Not totally, but they had had their fill by then.
And so, on Sunday night when I reminded everyone that the weekend was drawing to a close and I’d be collecting all their stuff, there wasn’t any complaining.
Just acceptance.
And then, this past week, there were no questions from Number 6 about whether or not is was the weekend.
In fact, my kids were amazing.
Of course they weren’t always perfect. Or even close to perfect.
They still threw fits. They still argued. They still cried for really annoying reasons.
But not because they were fighting over whose turn it was to play Crossy Road or who blew something up on Minecraft or whether they were going to watch Disney Car Toys Club (the most annoying thing on YouTube ever) or Lab Rats (the most annoying thing on the Disney Channel ever).
In fact, something very surprising happened.
Before being cut off from electronics during the week, Number 5 and 6 were basically waking up earlier and earlier, and racing downstairs to see who could get to the iPad first.
Once that was no longer an option, you know what happened?
They still woke up kind of early, but they stayed up in their rooms.
They played.
They turned their closet into a (really cool) hideout.
That led to getting a flashlight to use in there.
Which led to them putting on shadow puppet shows.
They came downstairs the other morning, rigged up the flashlight on their own, and just started putting on their own play. They did this for like twenty minutes. Which is way longer than they lasted before World War III erupted when electronics were involved.
Then they started waking up, coming downstairs to get a basket of toys, and immediately taking them back upstairs and playing quietly in their rooms.
All on their own.
Without me asking.
Holy shit!
I had been going about everything all wrong!
I thought the iPad was helping, but it was making things way worse! Well, basically unlimited access to it was, anwyay.
Because it was taken for granted. And there was no threat of it being taken away.
Now things are different.
The kids have an appreciation for those things now.
And they also know that Mom is no longer fucking around in the electronics department.
In fact, Number 3 has had some issues with his behavior in school.
And so I told him that he needs to have a good report from his teacher all five days during the week in order to get his Kindle on the weekends. I told his teacher about this arrangement, and she sends me a quick email at the end of each day with a report.
His behavior has been completely different.
He’s gone from zero to hero in the classroom overnight.
So yeah.
Operation Limit the Electronics has been a big success.
And it will continue to remain in full force. Forever.
joanna Norland says
thanks for this – i’ve also been thinking about an electronics ban — The other day, i came home from work and let my kid clobber me at chess. then it was bedtime, and he was disappointed he’d ‘wasted’ his free time playing a game instead of tapping into kindle! it’s a first choice activity for both of them, but if it’s not on the table, they find much better ways to spend time.
Robin says
Soooo….without electronics, who kept the kids busy while you got stuff done around the house? Just kidding…..sort of.
Heather says
I’m with Robin, I’m a little scared to try this out.