Make a family tech schedule

Today’s practice: Make a family tech schedule.

We recently took the bold, terrifying step of pulling all the gaming consoles (Xbox, Playstation and Wii) out of our home media center, and sending them on a vacation to the closet. We took this measure in response to our kid’s increasing obsession with video gaming, and on a certain level, it has worked: he’s gaming less, and we are having fewer arguments about how often, how much and which games he’s allowed to play.

Fewer, but not none. That is because our unilateral strategy missed the most crucial step: engaging both kids in a conversation about the role video games, iPads and other digital activities should play in our family.

We’re correcting that by making a family tech schedule: a list of days and hours when different amounts and types of tech activities will be available to each of us, so that the kids will know when gaming time is an option, and when it’s off the table. Most importantly, we’re including them in that process, so that we can encourage critical, intentional thinking about technology use.

I’ll let you know how it goes. And do tell me how your family manages tech access in your home!