As much as I agree with Screen-Free Week, each year it gets harder to abandon my digital devices, mostly because I keep adding gadgets and expanding the ways I use them.

I allow only one television in my house, and I steer the grandchildren toward non-digital activities. Still, screens are firmly embedded in my life. Many of us get our news, recipes and family communications via screens. And what about those grandparents who rely on Skype or FaceTime to keep up with grandchildren?


We can hardly expect them to go on hiatus for a week.

Maybe we need a new movement, one that focuses on positives rather than negatives. Why not pledge instead to do ten of the following this week:

• Go for a walk in the woods.
• Read a real newspaper, magazine and book.
• Plant a flower, tree, vegetable or shrub.
• Spend some time outside at night, listening to the sounds and looking at the stars.
• Eat a meal out of doors.
• Go to a fitness class, or exercise at home.
• Visit a library.
• Go to a lecture.
• Visit a museum.
• Pick up litter.
• Sort through old photographs.
• Phone a friend.
• Clean out a cabinet, closet or drawer.
• Put together a jigsaw puzzle.
• Ride a bike.
• Write a poem.

The above can be done with or without grandchildren. Here are some that you may need a grandchild to do:

• Classic Outdoor Games
• Outdoor Treasure Hunt
• Indoor Treasure Hunt
• Easy Card Games
• Home Science Experiments
• Activities Borrowed From Children's Museums
• Old-Fashioned Fun and Games
• Nature Activities for Kids
• Mini Gardening Projects
• Easy Bead Jewelry

Do you have activities to add to the list?

Leave a comment below.

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Learn More:

• FAQs About Screen-Free Week (About.com: Children's Books)
• Limiting Screen Time - Other Schedules and Activities for Kids (About.com: Pediatrics)
• Kids Watching Too Much TV? Set Limits on Screen Time (About.com: Family Fitness)
• Kids and Technology: When to Limit It and How (About.com: School-Age Children)