Kids share their favourite off-screen activities.
My name is Amelia, and I’m eight years old. I’m like most kids my age – I like to have fun with my friends, do arts and crafts, and watch TV and play on the computer. My mom is pretty strict about how much screen time I get, and we often have no-screen weekends where we don’t watch TV or play on our tablet or computer at all– not even for one second!
I thought it would be really hard to go a WHOLE weekend without TV or YouTube videos, but it’s a lot of fun, and it turns out my mom is really cool to hang out with.
One of my really, really favourite things to do is face painting, especially when I get to do my mom’s face. But I like to do mine too. We buy lots of different colours from craft stores, and you can find some really cool stuff around Halloween.
I also love to play with FIMO clay and make little figurines. We buy it from Michael’s and they have a million different colours!
I really look forward to my no-screen weekends now. Who would have thought we could have so much fun without TV or YouTube?
My friends’ moms make them stay away from their screens too, so I asked them what they do instead. Here’s what they told me. I hope my mom reads this because I want to try what Ava does really soon.
Air: Teagan, age 9
I like to play basketball because it’s really fun and you get exercise at the same time. I get to use the hoop in the neighbours’ yard and we can play whenever we want.
Stick handling: Trevor, age 10
I like to play road hockey because it gets you active, you don’t need a lot of materials and you can play it anywhere.
Tea for two: Khaliya and Aleisha, ages 8 and 5
We got this tea set as a gift and we got to paint it ourselves. Everyone in our family painted one part of the set, so when we use it, we remember how much fun we had doing it together. Now we buy canvasses and paint from the Dollar Store and do lots of art projects with mom and dad.
Will climb anything: Ava, age 5
I love to climb trees, but in the winter it’s too wet. Funtopia is our new favourite place for playdates. I can climb all the different walls whenever I want. It’s so much fun and I never get bored!
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What are your kid's favourite off-screen activities? Let us know in the comments.
This article was originally published in the Healthier You Winter 2016 magazine. Read more stories online.
