Despite living in rain city USA, I believe strongly in getting the kids outside as much as possible (also, the summers in Seattle are gorgeous). So today I've asked Lea to stop by with her top 5 tips for getting your kids away from a screen and outside to play. (And added a few photos of my family because I just couldn't resist.) Playtime is serious business. Just ask the American Council on Pediatrics. In their concerns about the effect of media on young minds, they encourage pediatricians … [Read more...]
Technology Makes Me a Hypocrite, and How I’m Changing That
Image Credit: © Tricia | found here | CC by 2.0 (edited) Every single time I stumble across an article or a post relating to “screen time” and kids, I devour it. First off, I want confirmation (that I rarely get, because everyone must be lying) that I’m not the only parent whose kids get waaaay more than the token thirty-minutes of approved screen time on any given day. It’s not constant, but yeah, I’ve been known to hand over my phone or a tablet so I can focus for an entire 45 minutes. … [Read more...]
In Support of Hands-On Play (and Defense of Myself)
I apologize to everyone tuning in today hoping for some playtime fun (soon!), but I've got to start this week by getting something off my chest. Ever since publishing the post We Need to Talk: Kids & Screen Time, I've been tossing and turning in bed over the response. On the one hand I was really happy that the post generated a (mostly) constructive discourse on the topic of kids and screen time. On the other hand, though the conversation was a good one, it wasn't the one I meant to … [Read more...]