11 Family Activities That Don’t Involve Screen Time

One night, while our family was sitting in the living room, I saw every person on a device.  There were a couple on iPads, one on a laptop and another on a phone.  The tv was on and no one was watching it.  They were all sitting on the same couch right next to each other.  But no one was talking or interacting with each other.  And for a brief moment, I was bothered by what I saw.  But after a few seconds, I shrugged it off, walked into the bedroom and proceeded to look at my phone.  

Shortly thereafter, I heard two of my kids talking and I thought they were talking to each other.  They were.  But it was more like arguing.  No one was looking up though.  They were still glued to their devices.  Both of them were playing Minecraft.  It’s a video game where you can enter different worlds and build things.  Pretty much anything.  After a few more minutes they both starting yelling at our youngest.  “Liam, quit destroying our homes!”  The older two had taken a long time to build homes in their virtual world.  And then their little brother entered their virtual world to destroy it.  It used to be that kids could hurt each other and destroy things in the here and now.  But my kids found a way to fight in the digital world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_1r-3-pDJ4

On other occasions, I have watched my kids watch kids on YouTube playing video games.  So my child is literally staring at a screen, watching another person staring at a screen.  How bizarre!

Now as parents, if our kids see us on our phones, checking Facebook or watching videos….well, monkey see, monkey do.

So we have become more mindful of how much technology has taken over our lives.  And we have done and are doing things to combat it.  Because at the end of the day, we want our family to be close, have good communication and love having face to face time.  I think most people want their families to bond.  And in order to do that, I have put together 11 family activities that don’t involve screen time to bring them closer together. 

Here are a few rules to go by. 

Everyone in the immediate family needs to participate if at all possible. 

Don’t use your phone.  Don’t check your social media.  Don’t make or take calls.

Don’t invite friends which includes boyfriends or girlfriends.  This is just for your family.

So here are the 11 family activities that don’t involve screen time:

1. Go Hiking – When you are out on a trail, experiencing nature, you will find time to talk, laugh and really learn to love each others company.
2. Volunteer – Join Habitat for Humanity or go to the local shelter and help serve food.  Our family makes blessing bags with gum, money, gloves and other things to hand out to homeless people.  Giving back as a family can have a profound impact on realizing how much you have to be thankful for and how much you love each other.
3. Eat Dinner as a Family – Eating together as a family at least once a week helps your family in many positive ways.  Studies show that family dinners lead to better communication between parents and children, better grades in school and reducing anxiety.
4. Visit a Relative – My grandmother is 92 years old and lives in a nursing home.  We have taken our kids a few times to see her.  She tells them stories about our family that they have never heard before.  It builds a deeper connection with my kids and our family history. 
5. Put Together a Puzzle – Yes, the old school puzzles that have 1,000+ pieces.  These take a while to complete and it teaches your family to work together, have patience and see something through to the end.  You will also have plenty of conversations along the way.
6. Go on Vacation – This is my favorite.  Getting away from the mundane day to day schedule can really bring out a whole other side of your family.  Involve everyone in the planning so they don’t feel like they are being dragged along on someone else’s vacation.
7. Escape a Room – Escape rooms are all the rage now.  You get locked in a room, you are given clues and you have a limited amount of time to escape.  This will be a great out of the box experience where everyone can participate.  Find one in the area that you live in.
8. Play Board Games – It’s an oldie, but a goodie!  You can’t beat board games.  It forces people to interact and there are so many games that can bring out the personality in everyone.
9. Have a Family Thing – Have something that your family does that maybe is not as common for other families.  We are currently experimenting with what our thing is.  Laser tag is something we have been doing.  But yours could be flag football, street hockey, going fishing….you get the point.
10. Go Camping – I’ve learned that anything that takes someone out of their element will force them to rely on other people.  Camping is one of those things.  Setup the tent, build the fire, make smores and tell scary stories.  Your family won’t forget it.
11. Do Arts and Crafts – Find an idea, pick out the materials and work together to make it happen.  If arts and crafts aren’t your thing, find something that requires a little creativity.  

These 11 family activities that don’t involve screen time are only a sample of all the possibilities out there. 

Here is another great source for some technology-free activities.  
We are always making fun family videos on our YouTube channel.  Subscribe and follow along!

What are some activities that you do as a family?