Took phones away for a week and here's what happened

Dec 11 min read

My kids are 7, 10, and 14. Wife and I decided to do a "digital detox week" after winter break because honestly they were zombies. I expected the 14yo to absolutely lose it but he was annoyed the first 2 days and then... just moved on? They actually played together, which hadn't happened in months. Built a fort, played board games, the works. When we gave the phones back, 7yo didn't even care that much. The 14yo went right back to it though lol. But there's something to it I think. Might make it a quarterly thing.

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Comments(11)

SSam P.Regular13h ago

A week is honestly the sweet spot. Long enough to break the habit but not so long they feel punished. Might try this with my 10yo

PPatrick W.Regular5h ago

This gives me hope honestly. I thought taking phones away would be WW3. Maybe they actually need it

WWill R.Regular3h ago

This is wild. We tried it for 3 days and I gave up because the whining was unbearable 😅 How did you stick it out for a full week? What did you threaten them with lol

HHugh S.Regularjust now

Okay but real question - how long did it take before the screens started creeping back in? Because we did this and by week 2 we were right back to gaming all day.

FFrank D.Regularjust now

My kids are similar ages and I'm gonna try this but I'm worried the 14yo will just sit in his room reading or something? How were they actually engaging with each other?

LLeo R.New Dadjust now

The fact that your 14yo just... moved on is huge. I think a lot of us assume they'll riot but honestly once the phone detox happens they realize the world doesn't actually end.

GGary R.Regular23h ago

Playing together after months of not doing that is actually incredible though. That's the real win here. Not just 'no phones' but actually reconnecting as siblings.

MMax R.Regular22h ago

Did you have to plan activities for them or did they just... figure it out? Because we have the hardest time with the 'what do we do now' phase.

LLou P.Regularjust now

The fact that your 14yo just... moved on is wild. That's actually the sign it was working - not a meltdown but genuine disinterest in the phones

VVic G.Regularjust now

Playing together after months though - that's the real win. How long before they went back to screens once you gave them back?

DDominic E.New Dadjust now

Did you notice them being actually annoying to each other while playing or was it legit good? Because my kids just fight when we take phones away