Those Darn Tablets
My kids, like most of yours, love their tablets. So much so, that sometimes they become annoyed and even angry when Carrie and I ask them to put them down. At times it seems like they would rather be on their tablets than anything else (even eat)! There are days when those tablets are the first thing that they pick up, and the last thing they put down. Between TV and tablets my kids had turned in to a bunch of couch potatoes. They were addicted to them like some sort of electronic crack.
We took five camping trips this summer and that seemed to keep them off of the those fiendish devices for most of the day. As soon as we came home though, back to their tablets they went.
She Put Her Foot Down
Carrie finally hit her breaking point and did the unimaginable. She took their tablets away for an entire week! You know what? They didn’t die from withdrawal! They didn’t have device hangover! They didn’t sleep in, or over eat like I would! They didn’t even complain. Nope! They found something else to do.
Man of Action
It all started with our most energetic and industrious son, JoJo, and the pile of leftover wood from our numerous DIY projects. JoJo can’t sit still for five minutes, but boy does he like to make stuff.
JoJo got up with the idea that he would make a scooter out of the left over wood and some old casters.
JoJo got out all the tools needed for the project and took them into the backyard. Soon, Manny and Haven and Grace came out and helped too. Before long they were finished with their project.
They had so much fun building it and playing with it. I can’t wait to see what their next project will be. Maybe I’ll get them to renovate the bathroom, they couldn’t make it much worse 🙂
I will have another post soon with some more detailed information about our reasons and strategies for successfully separating our kids from their tablets. I hope this article inspires you to get your kids outside and building something. It doesn’t have to beautiful or really even very functional. It just has to be hands-on and FUN!
