I spent the summer selling Majik Kids books at the Salt Spring Island market.
While there, I spoke with thousands of concerned parents and grandparents. They are concerned because they see how addicted their young children and grandchildren are to screens…. and they feel helpless about it.
This short article offers a fun and powerful alternative to replace (or phase out) screens!
For my wife and I, we made a decision early on for our son Sauryn, that he would only get 30 minutes of ‘show time’ per week. He is now 6 years old and the majority of his ‘entertainment media’ has come through books and audio stories.
He was actually the one who introduced us to the wonderful world of audio stories, which was what inspired us to build Majik Kids.
Here’s how we use Audio Stories instead of Movies & Shows:
- his crafting kit
- colouring supplies
- favourite toys
- play-doh
- blocks or lego
- or even a yoga mat
3. He will literally listen, play or build for HOURS if we let him.
What we’ve noticed with audio stories too, is that he doesn’t have the addictive, emotional withdrawal symptoms that we have seen happen when he has shows or movies.
Instead of being a little consumer, taking in whatever the flashing screen throws at him — he is an empowered creator — expanding his imagination, building worlds and creating with his hands.
As parents, we truly believe that kids need stories.
It is how they discover, make sense of and learn about the world around them.
Just put out an activity, turn on a Majik Kids story and watch as their imagination comes to life. Bonus point is to sit down and do some of our incredible Activities with your kids after you’re done listening to a story.
I invite you to try it out for a week. Replace ‘show time’ with ‘audio time.’
