Power up

During the summer all five of my kids are on at least one swim team.  That gives this mom comfort that a daily dose of fresh air and exercise is being administered every morning.  Until August.  It is then, for the next 3 weeks, that I have to pay attention to how much time they spend online, texting, kiking, instagramming, mine crafting, and playing xbox instead of seeing who's around for hide-n-seek.
Kevin and I were trying to arbitrarily tell them when enough was enough, and getting all kinds of lip, which led to groundings, and fights.   Not to mention having to keep track of who is off for how long, etc,= record keeping nightmare.... THAT is no way to spend the end of summer.  In one of those brief, and fleeting parenting genius moments that every parent has, we created a "power up" plan for the kids.

Each day my kids have to exercise to Power On the devices they would like to use.  30 minutes for a 1 mile walk, run, scooter ride, or roller blade OR a 2 mile bike.   1 hour for double, and unlimited is earned by doing 3 miles (6 on a bike) plus 5 minutes of math facts and 20 minutes of reading. (teachers you are welcome) A tiny miracle has occurred.  Not only do they not argue about doing it, they often get distracted outside and just play there instead.  This morning Ella pointed out that while she earned, "unlimited" yesterday she only spent a few minutes on the devices.  Since that time expires at the end of the day, she needs to start over this morning.  There were no tears about that fact, just simple acceptance! They find kids out there they had forgotten existed!

I recall summer being all about hot days spent in the sprinklers, playing whiffle ball, riding bikes, walking downtown, saving pennies for 7-11, and nights at the ball park.   While I am not one of those parents who see technology as the root of all evil, I do long for the simpler days when there were just fewer options for me to protect their brains from.