Boogers on the Wall

Two weeks ago I was an inch away from setting fire to my Kindle Fire.

After several days indoors with my kids during a three-day weekend I was at my wits end. I couldn’t take the whining, fighting and lying around doing nothing but staring at the black rectangular magic box any longer.

It was turning my boys’ brains to mush and there was a constant “When is it my turn?” hum coming from my living room.

No matter how much I begged they wouldn’t stop.

The Kindle must have known I was plotting against it and decided to give out on it’s own.  The jack where you plug it in to an electrical outlet came too loose and the device wouldn’t charge anymore.

We’ve been waiting for Amazon to send us a new one ever since and I have loved the break. I am amazed at how well my boys have played together without it.

They have lived as paleontologists scratching at rocks, desperately digging for dinosaur bones.

They have started secret workout routines in their bedroom as they prepare to be a new breed of ninja Power Rangers.

They have slid down our mini backyard hill and dug out an igloo-style snow fort in our front yard.

They have transformed my tiny kitchen into the Energy Solutions Arena while practicing bounce passes.

They have unrooted themselves from my living room couch and played more on their own in the past two weeks than they have in a long time. And although I have had to help them clean up a lot more messes – I nearly lost it one afternoon when they dumped every one of their toy tubs out in their room – I have been thoroughly enjoying our Kindle-free life.

I don’t know how other mothers feel, but I feel like my children lazily reach for an electronic device for entertainment. It’s easier for them to zone in to Netflix or tap at an Angry Bird than it is to run around the house finding each other in hide and seek.

I know there are amazing things that my children can learn from the Internet, and it’s fun for them to sit down and try out a new app, but this mom is going to draw up some electronic limitations.

I don’t want to cripple my kids in this electonics-based society. I realize that they will use sophisticated electronic tools throughout their lives.

But I’ve got to find a healthy balance that suits our family.

I am sure that once our new Kindle gets here my children will continue to get plenty of hands-on playing time, but I’m still going to make them unplug, power down the device and play for real.