Back in October we rolled out technology free Sundays in our house, a change that was met with many a moan and groan from the middle schoolers in our midst.  What do you mean, we can’t text our friends?  What do you mean, there’s no FaceTime?  BUT THAT’S HOW KIDS CALL EACH OTHER THESE DAYS.  Lawdy, lawdy – rend the garments and don the sackcloth, my children, because clearly I know not of your suffering.

Fast forward to two weeks ago when I learned the neighbor’s child is now a member of this pained “no tech Sunday” clan.

Score one for the meanest mama on the planet.  Can I get a holla??

So here, in a nutshell, is my update on tech free Sundays.

PROS

  • The kids are more likely to get out with their friends, and they’ve found there’s more to do with people over at our house besides park themselves in front of an xBox.
  • We’ve rediscovered the existence of Free Time.  Phones had become a default for dead time – play a game, text a friend, check out Instagram to fill that waiting.  But Sundays have reintroduced the concept of empty handed space, for lack of a better phrase, and it’s a good thing.
  • T-man is (ever so slowly) mastering the concept of life’s not fair.  Yes, it’s no tech Sunday, and yet there are still times BrightSide and I access our phones.  Calendars, time sensitive texts, checking the school website for weather related closings – we’re tech free but not Amish, man, plus I’m a grown ass adult so never you mind what I’m doing on my phone over here.  I’m not playing solitaire and that’s already more than you need to know.

CONS

  • We can’t text a kid to tell them to come home, which is kind of a bummer.  They head out with their friends knowing what time to come home, so changing plans on the fly is a bit more complicated.  This is probably my biggest hurdle.
  • True confessions time: I haven’t been able to stay off the blog.  I’m not working in my laptop and any writing I do is of the pen and paper sort, but there’s this handy dandy WordPress app on my phone that lets me field comments.  Would people survive a 12-20 hour response time to their Sunday comments?  Of course they would.  But here we are.
  • I put up with the side eye every blessed time I open my phone but again, I’m playing the grownup card.  I do Big Stuff around here, and most of it runs off my phone.  My recipes and shopping list are on there…the house calendar for kids and medical and pets and sports…our Contacts information…the list goes on and on.  I don’t need lots of that stuff when we’re on vacation, but when I’m in regular life?  Yeah, there are times when what I need is in my phone.

LESSONS LEARNED

  • We need not be concerned about an inability to persevere.  These kids continue to look for ways to circumvent tech free Sundays – not in a sneaky way, though I’m probably gonna have to be on my toes for that, too.
  • T-man and Bear are developing valuable negotiating skills.  We’re not unreasonable people, so if they present a well thought out argument for unlocking phones for an hour we’re not opposed to making an exception.
  • Bullsh*t arguments will be heard out but not rubber stamped.  You want to skip tech free Sunday because you got a new phone?  Nope.  Sorry.  Guess Monday’s looking pretty good to you right about now.