Unplugged!

We are going UNPLUGGED! I’m so sick of the kids being glued to electronics all the time! It’s not healthy to have their faces constantly stuck in a screen! So starting today we are unplugging everything- computers, xbox, iPhones, all of it! Time for kids to get outside and play! When we were their age you had to drag us in when it got dark, kicking and screaming!! Nowadays kids goes days without seeing sunlight! No more. Not in this house! Wish us luck 🙂

I’ve started a revolution with the above Facebook status. Okay, maybe not a revolution per say, but it would be nice if I at least start a trend! 

I meant every word of what I said. This household, or more specifically, the kids in it, are going unplugged. So what brought on this rash decision? My 12 year old was up all night, and as if this in itself wasn’t bad enough, it was on a school night. I checked in on him before I went to bed myself last night, and before I took my meds which are a nearly instant lullaby, and he was comfortably tucked away in bed, but watching a show on his laptop. This isn’t unusual- he often watches TV on his laptop before falling asleep. As he gets sleepy he will close the laptop and lay it on the floor next to bed. That was all I thought of it. I kissed him goodnight and went to sleep myself, only to discover at 7AM this morning that he had turned off his bedtime show and played Minecraft all night! I was livid! But even then I didn’t make the decision to unplug. He went to school as usual and came home for lunch- making a beeline to the laptop and iPhone at the same time. Seriously! Can you not even eat lunch without a screen in front of you? An argument ensued, during which he was rude, saucy, and refused to put down the electronics. 

Something clicked! Snapped! And the decision was made. Before the kids get home from school this evening their televisions will have been unplugged, their xbox one and ps3, all tablets and laptops will be packed away for safe keeping along with all cables and hook ups for thr noted electronics. iPhones will be taken away. 

Moms, Dads, guardians….electronics are ruined our kid’s childhood! This can’t be said for all kids but for so many this day in age, all entertainment and fun is based on something electronic from gaming consoles to computers, iPods to iPhones, computers to tablets, and everything in between! Children are being cooped up inside, faces glued to a screen, their only means of play a game on said screen, their only means of communication being the online interaction with other players. What happened to the days when kids went outside? When they actually played with other kids in person? 

Exhibit A: Recently, my nephew was here for a sleepover. Him and Little K are just a few months apart in age and are great friends. The next day he called his Dad to pick him up. When I asked him why he was going home he replied “So I can play with Little K on xbox.”  Hmmm, what? Apparently he was going home so he could play online with my son rather than stay and play in person!! 

When you think back to your childhood what do you remember? I remember my friends and playing with them outside. Hours and hours using our imaginations to create worlds far away from our own, mud pies in old baking pans from our moms kitchen, fishing off the wharf, riding bikes, attempting to build tree forts, playing hopscotch, hide-and-go-seek, and baseball. Laptop? What the hell was that? None of the electronics we have today existed back then but we were better off because of it!  We knew how to make our own fun, how to entertain ourselves, how to use our imaginations. And I’m not one of those Moms who like to throw out there “when I was your age…” But the fact of the matter is- when I was their age I knew what real fun was. I didn’t need an hand held device to talk to my friends- we talked in person! I didn’t need to have my face in a screen to play- I played with toys, my friends, and outside! The entire world was our playground- the real world and not some fictitious one that exists in  cyber land. 

So, I’ve had it! I collected all devices, cables, cords, and chargers and packed them away. Televisions are out of their rooms. iPhones will be collected when both kids are home from school. They are officially unplugged! Wish me luck people. Something tells me I’m going to need it!