BayouKidz | Weaning the Screen

article by Cindy G. Foust

Well, here we all are “marching” through the first quarter of 2025 and we’ve yet to see snow or ice. Being on the cusp of March as we are, means we likely won’t either. So, like it or not, spring has sprung and we are welcoming it with open arms. I hope this month of March madness finds everyone and their families doing well. The Twin Cities are coming to life as the spring needle begins to move, with parades, ballgames and Clydesdale Horses. I know I threw that in, but did y’all see those horses? I just want to own a couple in my backyard with my donkey. I think they’d be friends and I’d likely have to get another job or four just to feed them, but they are magnificent. 

Speaking of magnificent, I was in the grocery store the other day, in the produce section, and this young mom strolled past me with her child sitting in the back of the shopping cart. The child was watching her mom’s phone, or someone’s phone, which might have been theirs at the age of about 7, and guess what they were watching? Magnificent. When I was telling this story to my daughter, she corrected me that it was “Maleficent.” Tomato…too-MOT-O. Okay, where was I before I had the dialect lesson? Anyway, this little child starts screaming that the movie had stopped, like screaming at the top of his little lungs. The mom ignored him while she picked out her peppers but I didn’t. No, I don’t know if I told y’all readers, but I have a little grand love now (insert eye roll, as I have this on repeat), and I wouldn’t be able to ignore my little girl. Maybe I did when my kids were little, you know, learn to tune them out, but this child simply needed the movie restarted. Right? Like if I wasn’t scared the mom would call Nancy Grace, I would have reached over and started the movie again. Anywho, the mom finally, calmly, looked at the little movie watcher and said, “The louder your voice gets, the less screen time you will have when we get home.” Can you say bottle rocket? Roman candle? This little Siskel and Ebert kid arched his back and started screaming his screen time right down to one minute. You know, if that’s the rule and all. Listen readers, at this point I kind of blacked out. I didn’t know if I should run, if I should hide behind the Yukon golds or if I should call the manager. The mom just kept picking out her peppers and pushed her buggy right into the sausage section with her child screaming like someone told him he had to eat broccoli for breakfast. 

Screen time…let’s discuss shall we? I started doing a little reading on the subject when I got home that afternoon. According to the AACAP (I thought this sounded official), the average 8-12-year-old spends 4-6 hours in front of a screen and the average teenager spends 9 hours. Wait. Wouldn’t 9 hours be like all day? And what 8-year-old needs to be on their screen 6 hours? What happened to playing outside? Playing with Barbies? Coloring? I know times are different than when I grew up in Butcher’s Hollow (just kidding, but I did grow up at the end of Ollie Caples), me and my sisters had wild vivid imaginations and we put those to good use in the 3-Sisters Talent Shows that we routinely performed for our family. Can you imagine for a minute, my Big Daddy having to sit and watch three little girls sing “Kiss on My List?” Or “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain?” Or having a dance off to “Shake Shake Shake Your Booty?” SOS How did he ever keep a straight face? We even wrote our own music and would belt out “Polly Wally Wog” during this talent extravaganza. Have I ever described my dancing talent, by the way? Think gazelle…that’s been hit by a car…hence the name “Cind-yonce.” Now, you don’t have to state the obvious readers, because my music choices date me, but we didn’t have electronics. Heck, we didn’t get a Curtis Mathus VCR until 1983, so there was no lure of the electronics for these girls. And today? Well, today is a donkey of a different color. And how do we address it…or do we? 

I did some further reading on the subject, being a Lulu now for a whopping 10 months, but having been a parent not too terribly long ago, because I wanted to see what the options were for my loyal readers. I mean, do you guys need suggestions for weaning the screen? I think the Pick-A-Pepper lady surely needed my advice to go home and create a “Cozy Corner.” What’s that you say? It’s your child’s own little corner, with pillows and cushions and a warm blanket and maybe a little bookshelf with books and puzzles and games and a few toys. I even think a little lamp to really cozy it up might be nice. Perhaps it’s located somewhere near the family room, so they feel like they are part of the action Jackson. Now, that’s for independent play, but the next few suggestions will require adult interaction, so buckle in. You guys know I love my kitchen and I plan to spend a lot of time with my little baby love teaching her the culinary ropes. Why not host cooking classes every week for your children, and allow them to be part of dinner prep? What about game night? We love the board games at our house, even with my grown children, and card games are at the top of the list. In full transparency, everyone at my house, except my daughter-in-law, loves to win. Gracie just wants everyone to get along and not worry about the score. But the rest of us? We want to know who got all the places…1st, 2nd, 3rd and even 4th. It matters. With a little planning, how about craft night? Painting, coloring, drawing…all the seasonal crafts with of course, a little Hall and Oates playing in the background. What else readers? What are some screen time busters you do at your house? 

I love writing about this kind of thing, that encourages families to spend time together. That’s right, we will never regret carving out that time with our kids, our grandkids which will ultimately limit the amount of screen time they have. Let’s do it friends, let’s be intentional about this get those kids organizing their own talent show. If you need me to come do a dance class, just let me know! Maybe I can send your kids a Tik Tok on how to shake, shake shake their booties! Just a reminder that we are all in this together and finding things we can encourage each other with is what community is all about. #WeantheScreen #magnificent.

Cindy G. Foust is a wife, mom, author and blogger. You can find her blog at the alphabetmom.com for weekly columns about home life,  parenting, small business stories and insight with a smidgen of literacy. Give her a like or follow on Facebook and Instagram.