Of course we did! I'm not perfect. But we did break the cycle. We stopped using screens as a crutch. Here are the most positive of accomplishments:
- The boys can eat at a restaurant without playing devices.
- The boys can wait in waiting rooms without playing devices.
- The boys can grocery shop with me without playing devices (and for the most part I don't go crazy, emphasis on "for the most part.")
- The boys can get up in the morning and play quietly with toys and each other while I sleep in.
New rules in our house include:
- The boys must earn marbles toward screen time. 1 marble = 30 minutes. They earn them by doing chores around the house. This is just for phone or tablet time, TV is separate.
- The maximum amount of device playing time per day is 1 hour no matter how many marbles they earn. Exceptions can be made as I see fit.
- TV can be watched with permission, but much less. And we've eliminated certain shows such as gaming shows and other "junk." I encourage movies, which tend to have much more depth to the story line, teach more of a lesson, deal with deeper emotions, and require a much longer attention span.
Screen time has majorly increased in the last few weeks as we've been prepping our home to sell, which requires that the boys keep their rooms very neat. Screen time helps with that. Throughout this extremely difficult process, it's easier for everyone. Now that school is back in session starting tomorrow, much less screen time should be required to keep the status quo. We are toying with the idea of relegating all screen time to weekends during the school year, but I'm hesitant as I don't want to encourage weekend binging. We may just stick to our one hour rule for weekdays, but give them the choice of TV or devices, not both. We'll just have to experiment.
It seems that with increased screen time, ADHD behavior in Emmett has increased. I'm not certain that we have a clear cause and effect situation here, but signs point to yes (I asked my Magic 8 Ball). Owen still struggles to entertain himself independently without screens, but greatly improved over the summer. His love of video games will not diminish with any experiment it seems. We've got a hardcore gamer on our hands.
The experiment was certainly an eye-opening experience that improved our household for the better. Did it fix all of our problems and produce perfect angel children? No! Get real. Did we play outside all summer and get tons of fresh air? No! North Carolina summers are too freakin' hot for that mess. Unless you're in a pool, forget about it. We swam some in pools and at the beach, but mostly we stayed inside in the air conditioning. We went to the library, we read books, we went to the Children's Museum and the Science Museum. We played board games...so many board games.
And we survived. We beat the addiction. I set out to make a change and I didn't give up.
