Once apon a time there was a family who lived on a farm. The family consisted of a mummy, a daddy, three beautiful children and seventeen noisy but quite attractive guinea fowl.
The family was very happy, apart from one problem.
It seemed that each child owned an Ipod, you know, one of those small devices that saps all of the good energy and replaces it with selective hearing, attitudes that frankly suck and the ability to not help with any chores when asked.
The children believed that their Ipods were extensions of themselves, somewhat like an extra limb that they were permanently attached to. Many afternoons were spent seeking out the nearest power point to recharge, and working out ways to win on multiplayer Minecraft.
The mummy didn't know what to do, so she went to where she would find some answers - the internet. There were many other mummies having the same issues -
Just told mine that Monday morning to Friday arvo is no iPods, no iPhones, no iPads, and NO YOU TUBE!!! Didn't go down too well - but fingers crossed we see a change in their behaviour!!
Oh I've now taken away our ex-iPhones so none of the kids can use it bc they continually a) break the 1hr limit rule b) fight over them. So over it!
We have "technology free" zone from Sunday arvo to Friday arvo. I get frustrated with the attitudes and lack of basic thinking that comes from lots of tech time.
We are iPod/xbox/wii free from Sunday night until Friday afternoon! 4 weeks in and he doesn't even ask during the week anymore!
This advice was very helpful because one Sunday morning the mummy had finally had enough! She flipped! She cracked! She chased one child around the loungeroom trying to retrieve the Ipod while the child in question did her very best "change the password maneuver".
The mummy hid the three Ipods, much to the disgust of the children, who pleaded for "just one more minute, one more game, one more application download". The mummy would not give in!
Monday passed with several requests from the children to have their Ipods back, and the mummy, feeling quite smug and awesome by then, refused, and sent them on their way to play a board game. She had noticed how calm and wonderful the morning was before school, and how everyone laughed and hardly had any cross words with each other!
On Tuesday, the mummy collected the children from school early because the creek was flooding, and when they arrived home, the first thing the children asked for was their Ipods. The mummy refused, and sent them on their way to do some craft.
The children had an amazing time, painting some little white cups in the most beautiful, vibrant colours!
They each asked for another cup to paint, and another, and another and then a dinner plate or two, and because the mummy was loving their creativity and good behaviour, she gave them half of her white dinner set piece by piece, which was probably not the smartest thing to do.
The mummy now realises that if the paint doesn't set in the oven when they are baked, she will have plenty of colourful items for display purposes only.
Wednesday came and went and the mummy could not believe what was happening! Everything she asked was being done! Feed the guinea fowl, sure thing! Bring the washing in, cool, no worries! Run a bath for your sister, will do!
What was going on?
The children were calmer, happier and things were getting done. There was plenty of dancing on the deck, and moments of pure joy...especially for the mummy. The requests for their Ipods were getting thinner, and reading had once again become a focus.
The mummy decided that of course, the children could have their Ipods back at a later date, but in a more controlled and limited way.
They enjoyed downloading music and games, and taking photos, but the mummy, who was very smart and funny and popular and beautiful :) thought a balance between technology and physical and creative activity was the best choice for her family.
The End.
