by Laura Falin posted in Life

First of all, I'm not against screen time. Kids should know how to use computers. We use them a lot over the summer, for apps that help keep up everyone's math skills, and to share pictures of summer adventures. We track our hours for the library's summer reading program online. And we use it for fun -- I love having a houseful of kids playing Xbox and bouncing off the couches in my family room. None of that is bad.
That being said, I've never looked back at the end of summer vacation and wished we spent more time in front of screens. Screen time seems to come naturally, but we have to work harder at the other stuff. Here are some ways to do it.

Tips for Screen Free Time:
1.) Have a list of ideas. My kids are always saying, "We should try out this park," or "I want to read this book," or "we should try this experiment." And right now, we have no time because they have schoolwork and after-school activities. So we're making a list. Every time one of the kids or I think of something that sounds fun, we write it on our summer list. Once school is out, we'll look at our list and plan some days to try these things. If you're looking for ideas, try The Artful Parent for arts & crafts, Steve Spangler Science for science experiments, and our very own BabyCenter book archives for suggestions on stuff to read. You could also make a list of parks or museums or ice cream places (yes, definitely do that one!) and t...