The Great Debate: How I plan to Limit Screen Time This Summer

It's been almost FOUR MONTHS since I have sat down to write. Wow. So much for my New Year's Resolutions (or revolutions as Turtle calls them). 

So much has happened in that time. Here are the highlights:

I did a little traveling to celebrate the marriage of two of my beautiful friends, and got to spend time with some of the best people I know 

Mom and Walter visited and we celebrated Mother's Day and the following weekend Pap visited!

Turtle finished 1st grade. Yikes.











I got really serious about working out and keeping a food journal. I am beginning to see my Muffin Top melt away. And while I've only lost 8 pounds, my muscle mass has increased and I am feeling better than I've felt since I was a teenager.

My phone kicked the bucket. I have been without a phone for 3 weeks. And other than missing out on my "JMU Ladies" and "The Fam"group texts, and daily phone calls with my mom, it has been wonderful being (somewhat) disconnected from the real world.











There was a flash-flood.  Luckily the house wasn't ruined-but Steven's car is currently at the shop getting estimated for flood damage. Awesome. 

I think that about sums it up.  

I guess I have just felt a little uninspired to write.  I have been dealing with some pretty heavy work stuff, and in order to get myself back into writing, I first had to take care of my basic needs.  Now that I feel like I have (at least began to) manage my feelings surrounding the stuff at work, I feel that I can write again; and that feels good.

Earlier this week I had to spend a day away from jail.  Because of the flood last night and Steven being carless, I had to stay home and take care of my family and some stuff around here.  Being home was great, but with everyone home and the two dogs, sometimes the house feels like a cardboard box.  After about 6 hours of constant noise and chaos, I was about ready to scream.  And then Turtle came in our room. He started messing with the dogs, asking questions and upsetting our dog Kayo with all the noise, I literally didn't think I could make it another minute and so I decided to do what so many parents do; I reached for the electronic babysitter. Once again bending my strict rules about electronics and screen time, just for a few minutes of silence.

Now, I said bending, not breaking.  I couldn't let him get away that easy with free time on the Kindle. He had to do SOMETHING to earn it. Or at least something to teach him something.  He saw the Kindle in my hands and his mouth hushed as his infectious smile crossed his face.  As I handed Turtle the Kindle I explained to him about dogs and their body language.  I explained to him that all the noise was upsetting Kayo and that Kayo was showing him with his body.  I told him that he would be using his Kindle but only to research dog body language.

 As I expected a smart remark about how "it's not fair" or "do I have toooooo?" I was absolutely shocked when instead he said, "Awesome!"then quickly went to work.

The house was quiet and I sat down to check my email, and do some of the work I was missing because of the flood.  Before I knew it 20 minutes had gone by when I heard, "EMILY!" being yelled from downstairs. At just a little less than 2 years into motherhood, I have finally learned that your name being screamed does not necessarily  mean an emergency. So I took my time and went downstairs.  No emergency-shocking.  Instead Turtle  wanted to give me a report about dog behavior. 

And this my friends, is when I developed my new way to encourage learning over the summer.

Here Are the Rules:

• Each day Turtle will pick a topic out of a list of "Cool Topics" supplied by Mom
• Turtle must READ something about cool topic for at least 15 minutes, after that he may READ or WATCH something educational about cool topic
• Upon completion (no time limit on when it has to be completed, just as long as it's before electronics/screen time) Turtle will give a brief report to Emily and/or Dad
• Emily and/or Dad will "grade" report on a pass/fail rating
•  to pass the Turtle must teach Emily/Dad something-it doesn't have to be something new
• If report is passing, Turtle will have access to electronics and screen time
• If report is failing, Turtle will have one chance to redo the report. If he passes the second time he will have access to electronics and screen time
•  If the second report is failing, Turtle will not have access to electronics or screen time

So this may be a little flawed. I came up with it in about 10 minutes.  With that being said, I was able to work on other stuff and write this within 40 minutes, all the while Turtle working on his report.  At one point I got up to tell Steven something and asked Turtle, "How's it goin?"  He grunted in reply. I can only try and interpret it and I think it means, "I'm learning!" And indeed, he was. 

He did a wonderful report about dogs and their body language.  But of course, I am not the best with technology, and accidentally deleted his video.  Oops.  So instead, here is his most recent video with his report on trees in our neighborhood.

I would love to hear any ideas you guys may have in limiting screen time.  It is no secret that it is a constant debate in our house.  I am okay with screen time but feel like it should be for educational purposes, at least for Turtle. I see now that, that isn't fair, and that I am a hypocrite. I have spent so much time with my nose in the phone instead of really spending time with my family.  I am hoping that this new family rule will not only help Turtle learn, but will inspire me to put the phone or computer down and really enjoy the time I have with my loved ones.  How does your family limit screen time both for kids and adults?