This post is by regular contributor Tricia Hogbin of Little Eco Footprints.
I’d love to have a TV-free home. We’ve lived without a television before and I love the calm and creativity that comes with being screen-free. However, it’s one against two in my household, so the TV stays for now.
I’ve managed to negotiate every second day as screen-free (TV and computer free) and I’m happy with that for now. I’m also using ‘speed bumps’ to delay the TV being switched on. Speed bumps like the tea party waiting for guests pictured above 🙂 Here are a few other speed bumps I’ve strategically placed within metres of our television in the past week:
A shop waiting for some sales.
A few favourite dolls waiting for imaginative play.
A loved silhouette matching game (downloadable for free here).
A pair of scissors sitting upon a pile of pictures.
A basket of sewing cards (our favourites can be downloaded here, here and here).
And my favourite speed bump, a doll’s house placed smack-bang in front of the television.
Further reading on the benefits of decreasing television time:
- Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood – Family Book, Australian Government.
- Children, Adolescents and Television, American Academy of Paediatrics.
- Screen time and children, Raising Children Network
Do you have any tips for delaying the flick of the TV switch?
Read the comments or scroll down to add your own: