The smart way to get your family screen free

Tags

addictive nature, age appropriate, apps, aviator glasses, balance, battle, bed, bedrooms, binge watching, block, box sets, breakfast, catching up, changes, children, clay masque, cook, couple of hours, digital age, digital detox, drastic, easy, eating together, emails, Facebook, Facebook feed, family, family time, filter usage, five minutes, friends, glaring lights, hour, impact, Insta, interact, Internet, kids, kitchen diners, laptops, less time, memories, monitor, movie, Netflix, no screens, Open plan living, park, passwords, pesto pasta, phones, photos, pizza, play, Practise what you preach, protests, reminder, remote, restrictions, rules, screen ban, screen break, screen free time, shows, smart, Sunday, swim, table, tablets, take back control, talking to, time limit, timer, treat, turn it off, TV dinners, TV screen, virtual reality, walk, watch, weekend, work

Let’s face it, many of us spend far too much time on our phones, tablets, and laptops, so now and again we need a reminder to take a screen break.

Yes, they help us work and play, but their addictive nature and glaring lights do little to help us rest.

We have some ideas of how you and your family can get back on track, spend less time online and interact with each other rather than living in a virtual reality.

Have a time limit
Five minutes on Insta can quickly turn into an hour, so having time limits early on is a great idea. No screens before breakfast, a couple of hours at the weekend, nothing an hour before bed and a screen ban in bedrooms can all help to get the balance right and save squabbles later on.

Keep an eye on the remote
In our digital age we often forget the impact of the mere TV screen, but you should monitor this as well. Does the TV really need to be on all the time? Is binge watching box sets the best use of family time together and do the kids watch age appropriate shows? Decide on family rules about the TV, don’t leave it on just because it’s easy and if all else fails, hide the remote!

Rethink TV dinners
Yes, a pizza and movie at the weekend is a treat and can bring you all together, but TV dinners every night might not be the way to go. Open plan living and kitchen diners mean that it’s super easy to eat a bowl of pesto pasta on your knee as you watch Netflix but eating together at the table and catching up on your news can be so much better, and if you cook together that is even better!

Digital detox
There might be protests, but even an hour of screen free time on Sunday can help make some big changes. Putting down the phones and tablets and going out for a walk in the park, having a swim or meeting up with friends will give you time together as a family and while you might not get any photos for Facebook, you will make some lovely memories.

Take back control
When it comes to kids and devices, you do have the option of taking back control and putting restrictions in place. There are various apps out there that allow you to block and filter usage and you can put a timer on the internet, or just turn it off altogether. While asking for passwords might not be your thing, knowing what they are doing online and who they’re talking to, is probably a smart move, even if it is an unpopular one as they get older.

Practise what you preach
If you’re looking at your emails or Facebook feed while you eat breakfast, your children are likely to think they can do the same. If you want your family to agree to changes, you need to ensure you are following the rules as well or you might have a real battle on your hands.

We don’t say you have to do anything drastic now, but doing one or two things differently could bring you closer together.

Team Pure Beauty

Take a digital detox

Tags

again, cleansed, detox, digital detox, disconnect, food, free, fresh fish, green smoothies, healthy, humus, iPhone, jog, kids, meal, miss, outdoors, park, partner, prepare, screen, screen time, shopping, sitting, tennis, unplug, Vitamin D, walking, water

Unplug.

Disconnect to connect.

Digital detox.

We’re pretty sure you’ve heard these terms being used a lot recently but doing this can be tough.

With so many of us being slaves to screens, living life through a lense and being online pretty much 24/7, stepping away from devices might seem impossible.

The truth of the matter is that sometimes it is exactly what you need to do in-order to reconnect with the real world.

It might seem scary to go digital free but it is pretty easy and we have broken it down to so you can give it a go.

Make a date
There is no point in deciding to go screen free on Monday morning when your schedule is busy and inbox is full. Go for a weekend or during a holiday and put it in your diary so you don’t forget or double book.

Set the time
If you are permanently glued to your screen, going cold turkey for a week might not work for you. Just like a New Year’s resolution, you need to make this achievable so that you keep going and succeed. Go for a balance between realistic and challenging, which could be an hour without emails, turning your phone off at 8pm or only playing computer games at the weekend. You want it to make a difference to your life, in a good way so you can feel the benefits.

Set boundaries
We set boundaries for so many things in life, why not do the same with digital devises? Think about exactly what you want to cut down on, not just during a detox but also in life generally. Is it the volume of junk and joke emails, the constant stream of TV in the house or your over use of social media? If you think about this to start with you will soon see a way out of life glued to a glowing screen.

Plan something special
Taking a break from all things digital means you are free to return to real life. Spend time with family and friends and really focus on the here and now. During your break maybe plan to have a meal with your partner, go for a walk with the kids, play tennis or have a facial – all without checking your phone every five minutes.

Get outside
We aren’t talking about walking around the shoppings or sitting in a pub garden, but really going outside and taking in the beauty of your surroundings. Spending time outdoors – whether it is going for a jog, having a game of rounders or a picnic on the beach – is good for the soul and will help you detox on many levels. Good old-fashioned fresh air and sunshine stimulate Vitamin D and being at one with nature will take away stresses and make you feel happier and calmer.

Go old school
Cast your mind back to your childhood and bring out the board games, packs of cards, books and even colouring books and remember just how simple life used to be.

Eat well
A digital detox is also a great opportunity to prepare and eat healthy, wholesome food. A seasonal salad with sweet potato wedges, fresh fish, green smoothies, humus, fruit salads and iced water are all fantastic options that will leave you feeling satisfied and cleansed.

Learn
After your digital detox don’t run to your iPhone or add a clever status on Facebook straight away, but instead take time to think about how you have felt whilst free from the shackles of screens.

• What did you learn?
• What did you like?
• What did you miss and why?
• When will you do it again?

We are pretty sure that after a little time out you will start to see that too much screen time could be stopping your from being your best you.

Plan a regularly digital detox – weekly if you can – and you’ll be amazed at how different you’ll feel.