Author: childhoodwithoutscreens

I am so very glad that you are here!

In so many cases, the default solution for boredom, car time, waiting time or just down time has become reaching for a screen. Whether adult or child, we all reach far too quickly for a quick video, reels, games or chats to fill our time. We all know that this isn’t healthy. You have seen the same news pieces, articles and research that I have seen, letting us know that these habits are shortening our attention spans, decreasing our in-person communication skills, decreasing our critical thinking skills, hampering our reading and comprehension abilities, and just generally leaving us cranky when we don’t get the dopamine we are after from the screen interaction.

I am not interested in rehashing all of that here to make parents feel guilty about their own screen use or their children’s screen use.

What has happened has happened.

I am interested in helping parents who want to change this habit for themselves and their children to find a way forward to decrease the use of screens and increase their interaction with each other and the world around them. In my experience, when a better balance is found here, children will find more joy in their childhood and will SMILE more. And you, as a parent, will find more joy in parenting as your children become more pleasant, less attached to the screen, less agitated in its absence, and more engaged with you.

The monthly guides are the fulfillment of the very first vision that I had when I began thinking about helping parents gradually replace their children’s screen time with tangible, real-world, life-giving activities. When talking with other moms about the struggles they have with screen use taking over in their homes, and considering the wide variety of activities and hobbies that my children pursue, I wondered how on earth I could share such a list of ideas without overwhelming people. It simply wouldn’t be helpful to give an already busy, stressed mother a list and saying, “here, research all of these and pick some for your child!” They needed to know what ages this idea would be good for, where to find the activity or material, what to have the child do with it to ensure that it’s a success. From this line of thinking flowed the idea of a monthly magazine with fresh, seasonal ideas that would offer a variety of options for families to try out, so that they could see what interests their children.

The monthly guides contain several sections (this is a start; they may grow to include more as I go!):

Activities-There are three activity sections in each guide, broken up into age categories. There are activities for children ages 1-4, ages 5-10 and ages 10+. Some activities overlap age groups and are just altered a bit to be more fitting for a certain age. None of them are exclusive to one age group, though, and if you see something that you think your child would enjoy in a different age category, go ahead a try it out! Just always be sure to consider safety, especially for younger kiddos.

My hope with giving you so many activities to choose from is that you will slowly fill your child’s mind and environment with a wonderful variety of options that replace their desire to even reach for screens. They will hopefully discover new hobbies, talents and passions that they might not have been exposed to before.

Book Recommendations– The statistics tell us that not only is reading just not being done as much as it used to be, but kids can’t read as well as they used to either. There are many complex reasons for this, but one obvious reason is that so many books that are put in front of them are just plain bad. Bad writing, bad plot, boring, dumbed down. In order for them to get really good at reading, they need to do a lot of it. And in order to do a lot of it, they need to read books that really draw them in and engage their imaginations. I try to give book recommendations that are a little unique, cover a variety of topics and genres, and often are part of a series so that they can continue with a beloved storyline or character. My hope, and what I have found with my own kids, is that if you really get them engaged, their excitement about reading grows naturally. So keep checking the lists each month, and always check out the lists for other age categories, because you never know what might resonate with your particular child!

Articles for Parents– There will always be an article or two geared at helping you along in this journey of decreasing the time spent on screens. It won’t be an easy road, for sure, but it will be worth it. My goal here is to encourage you to stay the course, and keep you motivated to continue helping your family decrease dependence on screens.

Get Out Into Nature– This might be one of my favorite sections. I believe that engaging with the physical world around us is absolutely critical for our health and for development at any age. We learn so much about life by learning to observe with all of our senses. In this section, I aim to give tips on how to help you and your children enjoy being out in nature and how to really have fun with it. It’s all simple, but oh-so rewarding!

It is my sincere hope that these guides and the other resources here at Childhood Without Screens will be a blessing to you and your family on your journey of decreasing the use of screens in your home and increasing the joy that you and your children can find in their childhood.

Click the image below to explore the Guides!

August Without Screens is here!

This Guide is filled with recommendations for activities for children ages 1 and up, book recommendations, ideas for getting outside and exploring nature, as well as parent resources.

My hope is that this guide will give you and your child some great options for entertainment, so that they can begin to reach for new activities and hobbies instead of reaching for a screen.

Check back for a new guide each month for fresh new activities, ideas and resources!

One situation were it can be so easy to revert to screen usage is when you hear the dreaded….”Moooom, I’m BORED!”

Maybe you’re on a car ride. Maybe you are trying to answer some emails. Maybe get dinner on the table. Maybe it’s a rainy or snowy day. Whatever the reason, they are bored, and you can’t engage directly with the child at the moment. So, to stop the whine and solve this near tragedy of boredom, you approve some screen time. Not to worry, we’ve all done it. But maybe there’s a better way?

When a child tells you that they are bored, they are telling you that they can’t think of something to do off the top of their head, not that there is actually nothing to do. They simply can’t make that leap by themselves.

Your first solution is to offer a few options of activities or toys that you have readily available. There’s a chance that they might pick one of your options, and that’s great. But the real magic lies in them NOT choosing one of your recommendations. Here’s why.

It is genuinely good for a child to be bored. It forces them to think about what they really like and do not like. What do they see as fun and what do they dislike? Why? What gets their mind racing? What sparks their imagination? What if they just tried this one thing? If they are never bored, and are always given something or doing something to prevent boredom, they will never ask these questions of themselves. If they are never bored, they will never stretch their imagination and build their creativity!

Creative ideas and a vivid imagination do not just appear on demand out of nowhere. They need to be cultivated and nurtured. How do you do this? Let them be bored. Have open-ended toys and activities available and then allow them the time and space to begin working with those things.

What do I mean by open-ended? I mean things that don’t have an obvious, single purpose or structure. First, keep in mind there is nothing wrong with toys that aren’t open-ended…such as a pre-built racetrack or a light-bright. These can be lots of fun and they definitely have their place! But the toy lends itself to one activity, and if the child is not interested in that one activity, then the toy is not appealing, thus the boredom. Open-ended toys and activities might be things like a set of blocks, baby dolls, a bin of craft supplies, or an empty box. These items allow the child to create their own imaginative play. Use the blocks to build a castle, a house for their dolls, a zoo for their animals, a garage for their cars. Use the dolls to play with a game of family. Use the craft supplies to make cards, gifts, decorations, and so on. Turn the box into a fort, a house, a car, a fire truck, a doll house. Do you see how these activities lend themselves to a child using their imagination to play something that is bigger and more involved than one simple toy? Do you see how, over time, this builds creativity and imagination?

You might need to allow a child to actually be bored a few times in order to spur their imaginations forward to start coming up with these creative ideas. That is ok. You are not harming them. You are not being mean. They need the space to make the leap to creativity.

The next time your child says, “Moooom, I’m BORED!”, take a deep breath. Resist the urge to settle for a screen. Instead, say “I saved a box from a package the other day. Why don’t you grab some markers and scissors and see what you can make with it?”

Why This Matters

At Childhood Without Screens, we believe families do not need perfect rules to create healthier rhythms. Small, steady changes can help children reconnect with play, conversation, rest, and the real world around them.

If screen time has started to feel like the default for every transition, quiet moment, or hard day, you are not alone. The good news is that reducing screens does not have to begin with a dramatic reset. It can start with a few gentle shifts that make family life feel calmer and more connected.

1. Start With One Predictable No-Screen Window

Choose one part of the day that becomes reliably screen-free, such as breakfast, the hour before bed, or the ride home from school. Predictable routines are easier for children to accept than constant case-by-case decisions.

2. Make Offline Play Easy to Reach

Children are more likely to choose hands-on play when it is visible and simple. Keep a few inviting options within reach, like crayons, building toys, dress-up clothes, puzzles, or a basket of favorite books. Our monthly guides are designed to help you curate a fantastic collection of inviting and engaging activities for exactly this purpose. When your child has appealing options to choose from, screens can become less desirable.

3. Replace, Do Not Just Remove

When families only take screens away, children often feel the loss without knowing what to do next. Try replacing a screen habit with something specific, like an after-dinner walk, music during cleanup, or a simple game while dinner cooks. Once again, our monthly guides are designed to equip you, as the parent, with a great variety ideas to replace screen time with. We are here to help you prepare for these moments ahead of time!

4. Expect Pushback and Stay Calm

Change is hard, especially when screens have become part of a child’s comfort routine. Clear limits delivered with warmth help more than long explanations or repeated negotiations. Calm consistency builds trust over time. Remember…you are the parent and you are in charge. You know what is best for you child far better than they do. They do not yet have the ability to understand the consequences of too much screen time, the connections they are missing out on, or the skills they still need to build. You are in charge of leading them. Have confidence in you decision to move away from screen time, in the ideas you have prepared to replace it, and in the future that you are helping to shape for your child.

5. Focus on Connection First

Children often need help transitioning away from screens because they are leaving something stimulating behind. A few minutes of connection, like sitting together, sharing a snack, or inviting them into a task, can make that shift much easier.

A More Joyful Way Forward

Every family starts in a different place, and progress does not need to look dramatic to be meaningful. Childhood Without Screens is here to support parents with practical ideas, realistic encouragement, and tools that help children thrive beyond the screen. When you begin to build connection with your child and help them to build a connection with the world around them, I am certain that you will also find more joy in parenting.

Tantrums will diminish, tension and arguing will decrease, blank stares will fade away.

Eye contact, conversation and smiles will begin to flourish. Attention spans and communication will improve. You and your child will become more present to one another.

If you are ready to create calmer routines and more room for play, connection, and joyful parenting, we would love to help.