by Sabrina Garibian posted in Products & Prizes

My children, like many others, are on the go, go, go all summer long. On Monday you might find us at the local sprayground, Tuesday picking strawberries at the farm, and by Friday we're at the beach, soaking up the sun and building sandcastles. We need some downtime after all those activities, and I, as a working mom without school hours to rely on during the summer, need some time each day to work.
I've made an effort to find some great iPad apps to help my preschoolers kill summer boredom while still learning something. They get a bit of screen time while I get to catch up on my work. I admit it can be hard to get my children to put the iPads down when time is up, so we set some ground rules for all TV and electronics. 1. Friday night is movie night. We make popcorn and snuggle on the couch to watch a movie. This way the kids know that there is TV time each week but they need to wait for Friday to have it.
2. They can use their iPads for 30 minutes each day. They only get their iPads occasionally during the school year, but in the summer I need a little break. This has become essential as my children have dropped their naps. When the timer goes off, they must hand the iPads back right away or they lose their privileges for the next day.
3. If we are going on a road trip, they may have free rein over their tablets after 4 hours in the car. I feel it's unfair to ask kids to entertain themselves for more than 4 hours in a car...