14-year old: That sounds like a good idea. Sounds healthy!
12-year old: ...
6-year old: Wait! Can we still eat cereal?
On Monday of last week, the TVs got turned off. The computers, video games, and handheld devices were ignored. No Tech Week had begun.
Monday found the older boys playing Chess, bike riding into Harrisburg, and finding ways to entertain themselves. The four of us spent some time at the library, then the park. The 6-year old had two meltdowns, which is not normal for him at all. There was a lot of bickering and crying. I blamed it on tech withdrawals.
Tuesday was a little smoother. Still some bickering and outbursts from the younger boys. We did a scavenger hunt at a different library in which we received ten clues with call numbers. We hunted down the books, whose locations were described in riddles, and solved the puzzle. Then off to another park!
Wednesday is transition day from dad's house to mom's house. We made what was supposed to be a quick stop to yet another library to return and check out books. It wasn't so quick. I had two of the three boys in sight. The 12-year old had wandered off. I quickly found him sitting down with a pile of books on his lap, reading. This was huge! The 12-year old is not a big fan of reading, so after seeing him with not just one, but four books on his lap, I decided to stay a little longer. He ended up checking out the books, which turned out to be hacks for Minecraft. But hey, at least he was reading! The day continued with bike riding with the neighbor boys.
Thursday was the day the boys absolutely could not wait for. I had gotten permission from both parents to take the boys camping. We left early in the afternoon, running a few errands before hand. We stopped at PetSmart to visit with the critters there (and to buy some cat food for my baby girl), then my house to pick up some things I had forgotten. We got to our campsite, put up our tents, then went to the pool. I should mention that this was probably the most humid day I had ever experienced. The pool was so refreshing! We returned to camp, took about an hour and half to make a fire, played at the playground, and went to bed. Longest night of my life. Sleeping in tents is definitely the worst part of camping.
Friday finally came. We got the campsite packed and cleaned just in time for a light drizzle. We headed back home. More Chess games were played. Yet another playground was visited. And I was about ready to fall over. So I had a surprise for the boys. Around 2:30 in the afternoon, I had the boys read for a little while. Then,when the last page was read, No Tech Week was over. The boys went their separate ways and life continued as normal. Except, there was no bickering. No anger, crying, meltdowns. Just calm.
My goal in having No Tech Week was met. I wanted the boys to learn that they could find ways to entertain themselves that did not involve electronics. The 12-year old, who on Monday and Tuesday kept asking me what he could do, finally figured out how to entertain himself. I also wanted to see how their attitudes changed throughout the week. I was not disappointed.
Monday and Tuesday were the most difficult days by far. Tantrums, cursing, crying, and angry outbursts from the 6-year old. Angry nitpicking from the 12-year old. I assumed it was from tech withdrawals. Turned out I was right. Wednesday came around, and there was next to no fighting, no outbursts, and absolutely no cursing. Thursday and Friday, I'm not even sure I was with the same kids. Manners came out of nowhere from all three boys, but especially the 6-year old. Please, thank you, and sorry were being thrown around willy-nilly. I was so shocked at one point, the 6-year old actually had to remind me to say "You're welcome" after he thanked me for getting him a drink. I watched as the boys spent time together, having fun, showing love to each other. I was tempted to just throw the electronics out after seeing this huge change. But I don't want the boys to hate me.
I may never know why electronics have such a negative impact on the way children behave, but after this past week, after seeing the big change in the boys, I am going to try to take more time with the boys, away from electronics. I only have a little under a month left with the them before going off to college. I want them to learn to appreciate each other and to use their imaginations. I work with three wonderful boys. I want them to know just how wonderful they are. They won't learn that while staring at a screen.
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