Why We Love Screen-Free Week at HABA
Screens… a little less, bit by bit.
We’ve all had those moments of panic, worrying that maybe our kids' eyes are actually turning into rectangles from staring at their screens so much. We worry they are missing that unfettered, outdoor, free-playing childhood we had. Where we were left to our own devices, not our electronic devices. The reality is, we all live in a very different world now, and there are some pretty amazing things that screens offer (aside from keeping kids entertained when we need them to be). But every now and again, it’s important to think about how often we all (not just our kids) stare at those little rectangles in our hands and how it pulls us away from connecting to the amazing and wonder-filled real world around us.
What is Screen-Free Week
Since 1994, millions of people have participated in National Screen-Free Week. It is celebrated every year in the first week of May all over the world as a way for people — children, adults, and entire communities — to take a well-deserved break from screens, to rest their eyes, their minds, and to make time to play and get outside. Perhaps you’ve been celebrating this week with your family for years or you’re thinking about giving it a try this year, dipping your toes into the screen-free world for a few days. Whatever you and your family decide, and however long you want to participate, is up to you. The key takeaway is to bring awareness and reflect on how often we all turn to our screens instead of each other or to the physical world around us. Remember, the point of this week is not about going without, but about all the amazing things you can add into your life with your screen-free time while deepening your connection to your family and the world around us.
Less Screen = More Play
At HABA, all of our toys and games are designed to pull your kids and your family deep into the world of play and creativity. Our goal is to have kids' eyes light up from figuring out how to win a game or create a giant tower from wooden blocks. We love any opportunity to have an adventure, to make giant marble runs or to make a pretend soup with our favorite play food. We love to stack animals upon animals and build card towers for rhinos and gather fruit from trees before hungry ravens get to them. For us, life is better with play and connection. So if you want to try a week or a day without screens, have your children help make a list of all the things you can do together! They can check this list off as you try to do as many new things as possible. Or maybe you can do as many old things as possible - pull out favorite games, much-loved dolls, classic books and re-experience them with fresh eyes.
Fifteen Activities for Screen-Free Week
Here are 15 tips for screen free activities that incorporate some of our toys to get you started but this list is, of course, just the tip of the iceberg.
- Play lots of board games
- Make a giant marble run with one of our many amazing marble runs
- Tell stories with our Little Friends
- Go outside and make stick people with our TK Connectors
- Look at birds through a pair of binoculars
- Make music with musical eggs
- Create delicious pretend dinner with play food
- Strap a doll to your back and take a hike
- Build castles out of wooden blocks
- Have puppet shows in doorway puppet theaters
- Solve a murder mystery or identify the thief with our bestselling game series, The Key
- Start a garden
- Take a road trip with our handy travel games like the new Logic! CASE Starter Sets
- Have a camping adventure (pillow forts count too!) with our TK Tent Lamp
- Make a splash in the bath or at the park with your favorite bath toys
But the most important thing for this week and any week is to remember to have fun and take this week in whatever way works best for your family!
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