I saw the world premiere of Play Again. Play Again is a documentary that takes 6 teens who usually spend lots and lots of time playing video games, texting, face-booking, etc. and sends the on a camping trip.
If you are familiar with Richard Louv (Last Child in the Woods), Free Range Kids (www.freerangekids.com), Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, and many of the new educational theories, you will appreciate the effort to get kids away from their screens.
There are lots and lots of questions that come from Play Again and these types of experineces. Here are the ones that jump into my brain:
- How to I set limits as a parent?
- What alternatives do I offer to my kids?
- What do I do about their grandparents (who spoil them with TV and lots and lots of material things)?
- What about their friends whose parents are don’t care as much about screen time?
- How are the teens doing now that the experience is over?
- What are the long term implications of this experience?
- How can I help kids like these continue their journey into nature?
- How to sustain the effort and lessons so they do not fall prey to the trance of the screen?
That is a good start…what are your thoughts?
Tags: facebook, Nature, NWTrackers, parenting, Richard Louv, screen time, setting limits, texting