A reminder on my Facebook paged popped up to remind me that this time last year I was prepping for an interview on Good Morning America. Yep, little ol' me on GMA! *tosses confetti*
My family and I were interviewed about kids' cell phone usage and potential cell phone addiction. One of my kids was on his phone ALL the time and his grades were declining. I installed a program on my kid's phone which tracked cell phone usage and was surprised my kid was on his phone 6-8 hours per day on most days and even more than that on weekends. Bear in mind he wasn't allowed to take his phone to school so his phone use was restricted to after school and weekends and somehow this kid managed to rack up 6-8 hours of phone time in a 24-hour day.?! 1/3 of my kid's day was spent on the phone. I was shocked.
We had to make some changes. There was no way I would let this device control my kid's life. No ma'am Pam, it wasn't happening. We as a family learned to detach and reconnect.
First step to detaching and reconnecting is knowing exactly how much time your family is spending on the their phones. We installed an app called Quality Time to track our family's android phone usage. Another fab app is Moment. Each app has parental controls to track, monitor and supervise phone use and provide stats to help minimize phone usage.
Secondly, schedule some activities. When's the last time you had a Family Game Night? Break out the board games. Host a movie night at your house for your kids and their friends. Or my favorite the "It's Less than an Hour from Our House" Road Trip. We have found some dynamic hiking trails, museums and family friendly places all within an hour's drive from our house.
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| Crystal Bridges Museum |
Oh, as far as my kid is concerned. He brought his grades up. He's back on the Honor Roll and he is heading to Boys State AND Governors School this Summer. We knew he could do it, but we had to step up and and help him detach and reconnect.
What about your family? How does your family detach and reconnect?
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