Screen-Free Week is April 30 to May 6!

I love TV, and so does my four-year-old. He watches Sid the Science Kid every morning while I take a shower and get his sister ready to head out the door. He begs for his favorite movies in the afternoons, and sometimes I feel good about what he’s watching (Sesame Street videos from the library, Backyardigans) and sometimes I don’t (Cars 2).

Does plopping my son on the couch while I check my email, clean the house or bathe his little sister make me a horrible parent? I sure hope not. But, as with any choice we make, there is “opportunity cost.” What are we missing out on when he’s tuned in to the TV and not to the world and the people around him?

To find out, next week we're going to take part in Screen-Free Week, a yearly celebration presented by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood that encourages children, families, schools and communities to turn off the screens and “turn on life.”

Come back on Sunday, when my friend (a rabbi and a wonderful mommy) Leah Doberne-Schor and I will share some of our own ideas for Jewish ways to celebrate a week without screens.