Take a digital detox and take the 30 day screen free challenge !
In order to reset your child’s brain and get started on your ScreenStrong journey, try turning off the screens for 30 days. Instead of handing your child an iPad to pass the time, try giving them something tangible and interactive. Instead of fighting over turning the phone off at dinner time, what if the smartphone wasn’t even an issue because it didn’t exist? Try the screen free challenge.
Here in the Valley of the Sun, the weather is beautiful and there are so many ways to enjoy it! Don’t let the years pass by without connecting with your kids. Some ideas to help with your screen free challenge :
- Take a bike ride to feed the ducks at the Bullfrog Pond and bring a picnic to enjoy under the shady trees. (in the Reach 11 Recreation area, the Barrier Free Nature Trail parking lot is on the east side of Tatum across from Arizona Horse Lovers Park)
- Check out the zipline at Christy Cove Park (just north of Shea on 24th street) (warning—no bathrooms:)
- Go to the beach and build a sand castle at Butcher Jones Beach on Saguaro Lake. Ok, so it isn’t exactly like the beaches in California but on a hot day, it is fun to pretend we live on the ocean.
- Hike the Gateway Loop at McDowell Sonoran Preserve. We sometimes bring my son’s bike and he rides on the paved nature trail while I hike/run with him. He loves to stop and read the educational signs with fun quiz questions about the Sonoran Desert.
- Scooter at the McDowell Mountain Ranch Skate Park. It has little ramps for younger beginners to learn on and during the day it is fairly empty.
- Go fishing! Many of the ponds are stocked with fish. Roadrunner Park is getting a complete makeover so when it reopens, we can’t wait to check it out!
- Play Pickleball. See what the craze is all about. This game is fairly easy to play and fun for all ages! New courts are popping up all over the Valley.
- Go to your local library and find a book about something you want to learn about instead of looking it up on the internet. Then read a chapter or a page each night as a family to learn together.
- Grab a puzzle at your local thrift shop and work on it for a few minutes every night. You will feel accomplished to see all of your hard work after it is completed.
- Fix something. Everyone has something in their house that needs to be fixed or refurbished. Paint that old table and make it the centerpiece of the living room—a conversation starter if nothing else. Fix that old bike and use it for family bike rides in the evening after dinner.
- Cook a meal together. Look up the recipe, go shopping for ingredients and prepare a home cooked meal for the whole family. It might be messy and it might not turn out perfectly but it will make memories with your child.
For more ideas and specifics on how to implement a 30 day challenge, head to screenstrong.org/community/.
