Calling all Tip Junkie readers to join me in a “Tech Timeout”.  I feel so strongly about the message that  life insurance provider Foresters™ is spreading about taking a Tech Timeout™ from technology for family that I quickly jumped on board.  We took the pledge.  Will you?  {This is a sponsored post on behalf of SocialMoms for Foresters™ but I’m 100% behind this message! #TechTimeOut}
Foresters™ hopes that by launching Tech Timeout families will grow awareness of how our attachment to technology affects how we spend time together, even when we are in the same room.  I’m joining with Foresters™ to champion family well-being to encourage families to take the Tech Timeout pledge and “disconnect to reconnect” for one hour each day for a week.  How easy is that????  Perhaps easier than it sounds, but it IS do-able.  I promise.  I’ve done it, and it’s wonderful.  Trust me.
Disconnect to Reconnect!
We actually take ‘tech timeouts’ very seriously in our house, and have for years. Â We love our technology SO much that we can get a little obsessed with it. Â Family game nights transformed from board games into xbox games on the Kenect to texting each other from other rooms within the same house. Â That’s when I realized intervention was necessary! Â {{snicker}}
When the boys were little we noticed little things… like if they watched too much TV or played xbox right before bedtime ~ their little minds wouldn’t relax and they had a hard time falling and staying asleep. Â So, we found that what works in our home is to have the boys un-plugged at least 1 hour before bedtime for them to get a good nights sleep. This alone {one hour before bedtime} meets the Tech Time Out pledge, but I think it’s cheating since we already do it. Â {{snicker}}
So, we also have had no-technology days in our home: Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Â Conversely, we have found that it works to have technology hours in place for tech days: Â Monday, Thursday, and Friday from 5-7 PM and on Saturday afternoons {if the boys are home}, my men and I can have tech time.
With the tech times outs I have found my boys to be more creative! Â {knuckle bumps} Â They love to play in the Lego room and play with friends. Â I have also found those moments to be a perfect time to have them help me with my current projects. Â Yesterday we only had less than on hour to kill before the evening chauffeuring started, so I had the boys rake and play in the Autumn leaves.
It’s moments like these which matter and ones I cherish as a mom! Â The last thing that I want is for these moments to be ruined or eliminated by technology!!!
Ways to Spend Your Tech-Free Time
It’s amazing how much you can do and accomplish as a family one you put down your technology! Â Here’s some ideas that I came up with:
- Craft a Tech Gadget Center to House Phones and Electronic Devices during Tech Free Time!
- Make Goals together!
- Take walks together.
- Craft/complete projects Together.
- Do yard work as a family.
- Plan a service project for someone in need together.
- Engage in each others lives.
- Talk with each other.
Take the Tech Time Out Pledge!
Are you with me?  Ready to take the Tech Timeout Pledge?  Just go to TechTimeout.com and add your name to the wall.  It’s that easy.  You can download the pledge form, and the rest is up to you! You can also find and like them on Facebook here!
Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post on behalf of SocialMoms for Foresters™ but I’m 100% behind this message!
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