Mom puts kids on “screen detox” and daughter jumps 5 reading levels in a matter of months
There is conflicting evidence about what effects screen time (whether it’s a phone, television, video game, or computer) has on children. That makes it hard to set guidelines for safe tech use.
Some parents are taking matters into their own hands without waiting to see if screentime harms their kids or not – they’re banning screens in the home altogether.
It’s controversial at best since so much modern communication and education happens via screens, but parents have every right to make the rules in their own homes.
Molly DeFrank is one of the parents who have taken screens out of the equation almost entirely and now she’s helping like-minded parents do the same. Of course, just because it’s right for one household doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone.
DeFrank homeschools her 5 children and allows them to use a computer to do online math homework, but nothing else.
In a Facebook post from November of 2019 that has now been shared over 7,000 times, she showed just what a typical tech-free day looks like in her home.
DeFrank said that despite already having limited screen time in their household, the hour a day her kids had previously been allowed to spend online still changed their behavior for the worse – so she pulled the plug entirely.
“We’d only allowed an hour a day, but still, the screens apparently muted their creativity, caused grumpiness, fighting and whining. I was not into it. So we pulled the plug, literally. They protested for a hot minute and then we all moved on. I could not believe how easy it was. Seriously, it was like I had my kids back.”
Of course, that sounds like a best-case scenario and her kids were already very limited in their tech use. But the new rule paid off:
“I watched my kids go from screen-dependent to cooperatively playing, creating and even making their own ‘school.'”
While acknowledging that “technology can be useful in its right place,” DeFrank’s assessment of her own children’s behavior indicated to her that tech time was doing nothing good for her kids.
Describing the photo in her Facebook post, she said:
“A few Saturdays into our screen detox, my kids woke up one by one and saw my husband and I reading in bed. They grabbed their own books and joined us. At restaurants they bring a stack of books instead of propped ipads. My daughter has grown five reading levels in seven months.”
It all began as a two-week “detox,” but now it’s the new normal for the DeFrank household.
“We kept going because the kids loved it, we loved it, there was less fighting and more cooperative playing. Couch forts, board games, make believe and origami; story writing, piano playing and books being read faster than we could buy them.”
DeFrank has created a tip sheet for parents who want to follow in her footsteps (you do need to provide your e-mail address to access it). And while she does acknowledge that the rules aren’t right for everyone, she stresses just how beneficial it has been for her family.
The family has worked in 1 hour per WEEK of screentime on Sundays – but that’s it. The kids do look forward to it, but it’s not leading them down a dangerous path to tech addiction.
Be sure to scroll down below to see DeFrank’s original Facebook post.
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