This article is short and to the point:  KIDS NEED DOWNTIME. Every day.

Why? Because:

• children are under an information attack due to smartphones and technology, at home and in school;
• parents overschedule their children with after- school activities, sports practices, and events;
• the brain learns to be plugged-in all the time; it becomes “normal” to constantly “do something”, either on a screen or in a planned activity;
• children get used to someone else deciding for them; it leaves children with little- to-NO ability to think for themselves;
• the brain literally get addicted to overstimulation ( many dopamine hits per minutes);
• it leads to poor sleep, poor diet, poor school performance, and very poor social skills.

DOWNTIME IS:

100 % unstructured time with no direction for any activity from parents ( please!). Children get a chance to feel bored, and come up with ways to entertain themselves- without smartphones or video games.

What can parents do to create more downtime?

• first, decide in your conscious mind that it’s important; make it a priority in your parenting;
• talk to your children about it; use age- appropriate language; don’t over- lecture;
• model downtime in your own life, often; children learn and internalize the most from observing you and what you do;
• set limits and keep them consistent; children thrive on predictability, limit-setting and lots of listening time.

How are things in your family when it comes to downtime?
Do your kids have a hard time with it?
What about you?
Do you need my help?
Let me know in a DM or an email.