I’m sure no one else is having this problem, but it seems like every time I turn around, my kids are on electronics. 

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I. TURN. AROUND.

One minute they are eating breakfast, the next minute… electronics.

One minute they are doing their chores, the next minute… electronics.

One minute they are playing outside, the next minute… yeah, you guessed it.

Electronics.

I am blaming it on the pandemic! When this thing started FOUR long months ago, we had no idea our not-really-school-but-still-kind-of-school year would eventually fade into our not-really-summer-but-still-kind-of-summer months, leaving us stuck in this weird in-between place.

Only with even less structure to our days.  

What’s a parent to do?

I mean, don’t these kids know that when we go to their annual check-up the doctor is going to ask me how much time they spend on electronics? Umm… is there an option for EVERY SECOND OF EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY???

Okay, so maybe it’s not that bad. 

(but if I’m honest, it really is)

Friends, it’s time for an intervention!

A little bit of electronic time is fine and can even be beneficial! But seriously, in our house, we have used up every ounce of “a little bit” before breakfast…

So, I am obviously not really writing this post for you, I am writing it for me. My guess is there may be others of you out there struggling with this same problem; but if not, I clearly need your help! So feel free to add suggestions in the comments or message me with ALL THE THINGS to help me be a better mom! 

In the meantime, here are 13 ways I’ve come up with for helping my kids unplug from electronics and plug back into life!

13 Ways to Help Kids Unplug from Electronics and Plug into Life:

1. Chores
2. Bible Time
3. Reading Time
4. Exercise/physical activity
5. Board Games
6. Hobbies (music, photography, art, movie-making)
7. Outside play (basketball, skateboarding, bikes, pool)
8. Creative Time (drawing, painting, crafting, Legos, etc)
9. Cleaning/De-cluttering
10. Cooking
11. Scavenger Hunts
12. Serving others
13. Local Adventures (ice cream shops, hikes, parks, tourist attractions)

*Obviously how you apply these things will vary depending on the age of your kids, among other things. Bible Time could be individual “Quiet times” in their room, reading a Bible story together, learning about missionaries, or memorizing a chapter of Scripture in a month as a family (or some combination of these options). Exercise might be riding bikes in the neighborhood, a pick up basketball game with neighbors, a video workout on Netflix, swimming, trampoline, etc. Cooking could involve your teens making dinner for the family or your little ones making cookies with mom or an older sibling. You get the point.

And there’s one more thing I feel like I should add, mainly because God has made it very clear to me that this is key: 

Changing my kids’ behavior will be ineffective without also changing my own. 

If I’m honest, I- the mom, the one in charge, the role model and example for my children– spend WAY too much time on electronics myself. 

I find myself filling in the cracks of my to do list with social media. I will pick up my phone to send an important text and put it down 30 minutes later after getting sucked into the Facebook vortex or scrolling through Instagram. I go online to find a recipe and end up following a rabbit trail of various news articles and personality quizzes.

I cannot ask them to get off their phone if I am constantly on mine. 

I know, I know- we all are desperate for connection right now, so I’m not saying we shouldn’t talk to our friends. And many of us are online for work, so we can’t exactly unplug anytime we want. I get it! Since entering the “writing” world, I find myself constantly distracted (not just online, either… sometimes with chores, in a book, and even just in my own thoughts!).

But I also know the Lord is telling me that, while it’s important for me to help my kids unplug from electronics, it’s even more important for me to be extra intentional about how I am spending my time. 

Over the years I’ve learned that when I am purposeful about when and how I’m going to get my “work” done (which may be business-related, or it may be prepping dinner, cleaning the bathroom, or replying to emails, etc.), it enables me to be present for my family the rest of the time.  

Full disclosure- I’ve done a pretty rotten job of this lately.

So, in addition to helping my kids intentionally structure their time and better organizing my own schedule, I am also looking through the list above to see which of these things I need to invest in with them. 

Which ones would be really fun if we did them together? If you’re a mom of littles, you may be asking yourself, “Which of these things are they able to do by themselves or at the table with me while I do something else, and for which ones should they have my focused attention?”

 Then finally, how can I remind myself to stop and be fully present when they want to share their thoughts and creations with me or when they want me to join in the action?

Believe it or not, we only have ONE month of summer left (I am not even going to think about pandemic-schooling yet, so Shhhhhhh!!!). Let’s challenge each other to unplug a little -or a lot, whichever the case may be- from electronics and spend more time truly plugged in to our people.

If you have any other ideas, please share them in the comments! I figure after a week or so, I’m going to need some more suggestions…