Limiting Electronics Made My Life Easier

We are well into a month of no electronics for the kids during the week.

The first week was tough. Number 6, who is four years old and still doesn’t quite understand what a weekend even is, took it the hardest.

Every day he would wake up and ask, “Is it the weekend yet?”

The second week was not easy, but it was better than the first.

But now, at the end of the fourth week, something pretty interesting has happened.

Yesterday morning I was cleaning up in the kitchen and Number 6 and 7 were in the playroom playing with Lego blocks.

They had both made some contraptions they wanted to show me, and they brought them into the kitchen.

Of course, Number 7 dropped hers on the floor and it broke into a million pieces and she started bawling.

And Number 6 picked them up for her, said, “Number 7, I’ll help you put this back togethew!” and then reassembled whatever it was that she had built.

And then he looked at me and he said, “Mommy, I helped hew. I’m being a good big bwothew. And that means I’m eawning electwonic time on the weekend, wight?”

And then the two of them walked back to the playroom and continued to build stuff together.

Wow! They are getting it!

Especially Number 6. The worst one of them all! He’s totally getting it!

But that wasn’t the best part.

The best part was the fit he threw after that.

Because my dad was coming to pick the two of them up to spend the day at his house, and Number 6 was begging me to take the big ass Lego container to my parents’ house.

He used to beg to take the iPad. Or the Kindle.

And now he’s begging to take some good old fashioned Lego blocks in the car.

My kids are begging to play with actual toys.

Toys that don’t need to be charged.

I’m not saying my kids are perfect. At all.

They still torment each other and throw fits and do things that aren’t cool.

But they are much different than they were a month ago.

They are more cooperative and more creative and more likely to spend longer periods of time together without getting into a massive fight.

And it only took a month of being consistent to really change the behavior.

See what happens when you are consistent and you tough it out?

Good things.

If you are in the first week of making changes with your kids, hang in there.

It will pay off when you do.

I know. Because it paid off for me.

PLEASE VOTE!!!!