Summer Lovin': Can you survive without technology?
- musclemommas
- Jun 21, 2016
- 3 min read
Yesterday marked the first day of summer, although if you live in the YEG area, you have been witness to the beautiful, summer-like weather we have been experiencing for almost two months, now. With warm weather comes shorter skirts, brightly coloured clothing, and a multitude of excuses just to get outside and soak up our yearly allotment of vitamin D in these few, short months. Now, I could get up on my soap box and tell you how this is a great opportunity to workout using a park bench (which, in all reality isn't a bad idea!) or use the weather as an excuse to start training for a short 5km race; but, I happen to think the warm weather is just a great reason to put away the screens and disconnect. (And who knows? Maybe putting away the screens will be spark your desire to start making other fitness plans; but, at least its a place to start!)
For as far back as I can remember, my parents had a summer tradition that involved renting the same cabin for two weeks, every summer, on the Shuswap Lake in BC and getting back to basics. Yes, we were spoiled with power, heat/AC and flushing toilets; but, we were disconnected from TV's, computers, and phone service -the only cell phone our family had was a giant brick with a foot-long antennae! Getting away from screen time for two weeks was the best part of our summer! We would swim all day long, or go running through the woods. We would catch frogs, or skip rocks. If it rained, we were encouraged to read, play a family puzzle, or sit around the table for a game of cards. This may sound 'boring,' but when I look back on those memories, I remember having the time of my life! And it's an experience I would like my own children to have. This year, we are going to be attempting something similar. No, we aren't going crazy and cancelling Netflix at home, or banning the iPad. Instead, we are testing the waters by heading out to a family camp that is, quite literally, across the lake from the cabin I once frequented. We will be packing up the family and heading on out to a weekend of Family Camp. The camp is only three days long: the perfect amount of time to ease our little 'Princess' (4YO) and the Moose (2YO) into the world of dirt, bugs, and biffies. I imagine potty time will be difficult. I, also, anticipate there will be infringement on comfort zones for my city-dwelling, pampered babies when it comes to dirty hands, cold lake water, or anything to do with nature. They are probably going to lose it when they realise that, not only is the camp lacking a tv, but we won't have any phone service for them to use our cells or iPad. TFB, kidlets: if all goes well, though, I plan on making this a "thing" for our family.
I'm not an extremest: I let my kids watch tv. I let them watch it until I'm singing the PAW Patrol or The Aquanots theme songs at work! They get time on the iPad to learn their letters or play puzzles. They get A LOT of screen time some days, and it just doesn't fit our reality to shut it all off all summer-long. It does, however, fit our lives to escape it for a few short days. It's like pressing the reset button. We will be running, swimming, and playing without the distraction of our daily responsibilities or the urge to watch our favourite shows. We won't have work calling us, or our phones buzzing from constant emails. I, personally, don't plan on having organised workouts while at camp: all that energy is going to be saved for playing with my kids and they will be my weights and cardio. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your family's health is just pause, and reset.
Are you looking to press the reset button? Here are some family options that you may want to consider: