Phones, tablets, laptops, and video game consoles are an ever-increasing part of our daily lives, more so for kids. And minimizing their time on these devices is always a challenge, especially during summer vacation. Now that school is out for summer break, let’s look at some tips to help kids limit their screen time, keep their minds sharp, and increase physical activity during summer.
Summer Reading
Encouraging your kids to read is an excellent way to keep them away from their screens while giving them something to do that stimulates their brains. Most local libraries have summer reading programs for kids of all ages. Encouraging your children to continue reading throughout the summer is shown to reduce ‘summer slide’, in which children lose much of what they learned during the school year over summer break. According to a report posted on scholastic.com,
The Teacher & Principal School Report, a companion study to the Kids & Family Reading Report, found that the vast majority (96%) of teachers, principals, and school librarians say that providing year-round access to books at home is important to enhancing student achievement.
If you don’t have access to a library summer reading program, set aside some time every week for your children to read or read to them if they’re not ready to do it on their own.
Set a Game Time
Another way to reduce your child’s gadget use is to get the family together for game night to play board games, card games, or anything that’s fun and stimulates their minds. Playing board games and card games that require critical thinking and logic is an excellent way to help them keep their mental skills sharp throughout the summer, so they’re prepared for school in the fall and strengthen family bonds.
Exercise
Keeping young bodies in shape is just as essential as minds, and one of the best ways to do that is to get them moving. Whether you include your kids in your daily workout routines, going on family walks, or letting them go wild at the playground is a fun way to keep kids physically fit. And, you don’t have to engage in strict workouts or exercise routines either to stay active during summer. Kids are happy to engage in various outdoor activities, such as playing sports, exploring the backyard looking for interesting insects, riding bikes, etc. Whatever you can come up with to get them off the couch and away from their devices for physical activity will work.
Paint Kindness Rocks
Here’s an excellent project for kids and parents to get involved in during summer. The Kindness Rocks Project became a viral trend in 2015, in which people would paint fancy, colorful designs on rocks and include messages of encouragement or kindness. Once painted, they would hide the rocks throughout their town and share clues on social media about where to find them. The fun isn’t only in painting rocks and hiding them, but going on scavenger hunts to find them. This is a fun activity that kids can do with a group of friends or their family.
Start a Sketchbook
Most kids love to be creative and draw, so another fun activity to help them take a break from their devices for a while is to encourage them to start a daily sketchbook. Much like a daily journal, consider getting your kids a large sketchbook and encourage them to fill up a page every day, drawing whatever comes to their minds. This is a great activity for children of all ages because everyone can draw, even if it’s simple stick figures or colorful scribbles. For older children, challenge them to come up with a story and tell it through their pictures like a comic book to stimulate their imaginations.
Use Apps
Finally, if you’re committed to reducing the amount of time your kids spend on their tablets and phones, consider using an app or system setting to accomplish it. Whether you use an iPhone or Android device, there are apps available allowing you to customize how much screen time your kids can get and reward them with more once they do their chores, finish homework, or complete another task. Many of these apps come with additional features, such as setting up geofences and web content filtering.
There are hundreds of things you can do this summer to limit your children’s screen time and keep their minds and bodies in shape until the next school year arrives.
About Kids R’ Kids
Kids R’ Kids at Avalon Park is a family-owned facility operated by local residents to create a sense of community for our students and their families. We’re nationally renowned, and our academy is proud to be an integral part of this community. We’re committed to providing a safe, secure, state-of-the-art environment for our students, and we offer:
- Creative, fun, and technologically driven accredited programs
- Dedicated, highly trained, and personable teachers and staff
- Convenient drop off and pick up with flexible hours
If you’re interested in investing in your child’s early education and want to learn more about our facility, call us at 407-306-9035 or fill out our convenient online form. We’re located at 12881 Tanja King Blvd., Orlando, Florida.