Screens are woven into almost every part of family life now—homework, group chats, grocery lists, carpool coordination. If you’ve ever announced “Everyone, put your devices away!” and instantly regretted it, you are very much not alone.
Researchers have actually found that parental guilt over kids’ screen time can increase stress and chip away at how satisfied parents feel in their relationship with their child. The actual number of minutes kids spend on screens matters less than how stressed and guilty parents feel about it.
That’s good news. Your family does not need a perfectly “screen-free” life. You just need to add a bit more face-to-face, playful connection into your day.
Below are five doable changes to help your family step away from devices and toward games, crafts, and shared laughter—without adding a ton of pressure.
Why “Face Time” Matters
Child-health organizations are moving away from rigid “X minutes per day” rules and toward a focus on quality of media and strong, consistent family relationships. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests using tools like the “5 Cs of media guidance” (child, content, calm, co-viewing, and communication) to help families create balanced screen habits that support mental health and connection.
A few things studies are telling us:
- Higher screen time in children and teens has been linked with higher cardiometabolic risk (things like insulin resistance and higher blood pressure), especially when it crowds out sleep and physical activity.
- A pilot “Screen-Free Week” program with parents of young children found that a week of intentional screen-free time reduced parents’ depressive symptoms and lowered both parent and child screen use—especially parent phone use during child time.
- Parent tech habits really matter. Studies show that when parents use devices more and experience more “technoference” (phones interrupting interactions), kids tend to have more screen time and more psychosocial difficulties.
The takeaway: kids benefit when we carve out pockets of predictable, device-light time and when we model being present. This isn’t about perfection; it’s about small, consistent moments of face time.
1. Protect One “Anchor Moment” Each Day
Pick one daily moment—dinner, after-school snack, bedtime reading, or a short nighttime hangout—and declare it a device-free “anchor” for everyone, grown-ups included.
Try this:
- Put a small basket on the counter; everyone drops phones/tablets in before your anchor time begins.
- Add one simple ritual:
- Rose/Bud/Thorn (one good thing, one hard thing, one thing you’re looking forward to).
- “Two Truths and a Silly” (two real facts, one made-up one that everyone guesses).
- Keep it short and realistic—10–20 minutes is enough to start.
- Try Let's Talk Cubes for conversation starters.
Research on family meals and shared conversations suggests that even modest, regular in-person connections can support kids’ social and emotional development and overall well-being.
2. Swap Solo Scrolling for Shared Game Time
Games are one of the easiest ways to replace “everyone in their own corner with a screen” with “everyone laughing around the same table.”
Chalk & Chuckles. This company creates educational toys and games that help kids build skills while they play—math, language, problem-solving, and focus.
One example many families enjoy:
- Long Legs (Chalk & Chuckles) – A fast-paced math game where kids slide monster “legs” up and down a number line to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and concepts like “greater than,” “odd/even,” and doubles. Designed for kids around 6–9, it turns math practice into a giggly race.
How To Use Games as Screen Swaps
- Pick one evening each week as Family Game Night Lite—30 minutes, tops.
- Rotate between:
- A cooperative board game (everyone vs. the game).
- A Chalk & Chuckles game like Long Legs or another skill-based game.
- A deck-of-cards game kids can eventually teach you.
- Keep expectations low: PJs welcome, snacks encouraged, rules can be “good enough.”
Children often learn more from these playful interactions than from formal lectures. You’re building math, language, patience, and sportsmanship while also creating memories.
3. Create a Tiny “Makerspace” with Eugy, ODDY, and Other Simple Crafts
Screens are so good at filling boredom that many kids forget they are naturally creative. Crafty, hands-on activities bring that back—and you don’t need a full art studio.
Eugy 3D cardboard puzzles are a fantastic anchor for a mini makerspace:
- Eugy specializes in small 3D animal puzzles made from recycled, eco-friendly cardboard.
- Kids glue together stacked cardboard pieces to build animals (think pangolins, kiwis, cardinals, and lots more), learning about wildlife and conservation as they go.
- These models support fine motor skills, patience, problem-solving, and environmental awareness—all within a calm, screen-free activity.
Set up your makerspace like this:
- Use one basket or low bin with:
- A couple of Eugy kits
- Washable markers or crayons
- Kid-safe scissors and tape
- Recycled materials: cardboard tubes, boxes, scrap paper
- ODDY Invention Kits
- Place it where devices usually live. When someone reaches for a tablet out of habit, point to the makerspace and invite them to “build a creature first.”
Kids get that satisfying “I finished something!” feeling that they sometimes chase with games or videos—but this time it’s a real, tangible creation.
4. Build a Family “Boredom Menu”
Boredom is when screens usually sneak in. Families tend to reach for devices the moment a child says, “I’m booooored,” because nobody wants to wrestle with whining after a long day.
A boredom menu gives kids pre-agreed options they can choose without asking for a device.
Make it together:
- Grab a sheet of paper and let everyone brainstorm 10–20 screen-free ideas:
- Sidewalk chalk obstacle course
- Board game of choice
- Build a Eugy animal and give it a backstory
- Pillow “ninja course” in the living room
- Dance party with a pre-made playlist
- 10-minute “reading fort” with flashlights
- Post the list on the fridge. The rule:
- When someone asks for a screen out of boredom, they pick one boredom-menu idea and try it for 10 minutes first.
Research on child development consistently points to unstructured play and in-person interaction as key ingredients in language growth, emotional regulation, and problem-solving—things passive screen time tends to crowd out.
5. Try a Weekly “Unplugged Hour” as a Family Experiment
A full “Screen-Free Week” can feel overwhelming. Researchers tested a version of this with parents of young kids: one week of intentional screen-free time. The small changes they made led to decreases in both parent and child screen time, as well as improvements in parent well-being and clearer screen-time limits—even after the week ended.
You can borrow the spirit of that research in a gentler way.
Unplugged Hour Blueprint:
- Pick one hour a week and name it something fun, like “Family Reset” or “Tech Timeout & Tacos.”
- Let kids help pick activities:
- First 20 minutes: outdoor play or movement
- Next 20: game (Chalk & Chuckles, charades, or a simple card game)
- Last 20: quiet crafts or puzzles (Eugy, drawing, building with blocks)
- Let kids help set the rules: devices in a basket, TV off, music allowed.
- After the hour, do a quick check-in:
- What did you like?
- What felt hard?
- What should we repeat next week?
Over time, this becomes less about “giving up screens” and more about “this is our weird, wonderful family hour.”
A Gentle Word About Guilt
Studies are showing that parental guilt about screen time may be more damaging to the parent–child relationship than the screen time itself. When guilt rises, so does stress, and relationship satisfaction falls.
Grace matters here. You can absolutely use screens as tools and intentionally build in moments of games, crafts, and conversation. When kids see us putting our own phones down sometimes, they see a parent choosing them on purpose.
Pick one idea from this list and try it this week—one anchor moment, one new game night, one Eugy creature, one unplugged hour. Small, repeatable steps add up to more face time, more inside jokes, and more of that warm “we’re in this together” feeling.
Quick Read Version:
· Simple shifts can bring more connection—and less chaos—to your days.
· A tiny daily ritual can make “family time” feel natural instead of forced.
· Swapping screens for shared play can spark laughter you didn’t know you were missing.
· Creativity tends to show up when kids get the right kind of invitation.
· A once-a-week reset can change the feel of your whole home.
Less screen time, more face time.
About the Author:
Paige Whitley is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida. With over 3 years of dedicated experience, Paige has become a trusted ally for diverse populations, including the neurodivergent community, trauma survivors, substance abuse sufferers, and those navigating general mental health challenges. Since 2010, Paige has impacted young lives through her work as a lifeguard, swim teacher, behavior technician, nanny, and counselor. When not at work, she indulges in the magic of Disney Parks, enticing culinary adventures, and family time with her husband, fur babies, and baby Whitley. Passionate and empathetic, she's a catalyst for positive change, committed to improving her community's mental health landscape.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2025). Kids & screen time: How to use the 5 C’s of media guidance. HealthyChildren.org.
American College of Pediatricians. (2020). Media use and screen time – Its impact on children, adolescents, and families.
Manaker, L. (2025, August 13). Scientists just linked screen time to heart disease risk in young people. EatingWell. (Reporting on a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association).
McDaniel, B. T., Rasmussen, S., Reining, L., Culp, L., & Deverell, K. (2023). Pilot study of a screen-free week: Exploration of changes in parent and child screen time, parent well-being and attitudes, and parent-child relationship quality. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2023.
Nabi, R. L., Wolfers, L. N., & Walter, N. (2024). Too much screen time or too much guilt? How child screen time and screen guilt influence parent stress and their satisfaction with the parent–child relationship. Journal of Children and Media.
McDaniel, B. T., & colleagues. (2020). Parent technology use, parent–child interaction, child screen time, and child behavior problems. The Journal of Pediatrics.