Screen-Free Fun: 400 Activities for the Whole Family

by Shannon Philpott-Sanders

Fight back against boredom and keep your kids busy and entertained—without staring at a screen—with this handy collection of family activities ranging from DIY projects to outdoor adventures to easy daytrips.

While technology often offers a quick and easy parenting solution to keep children entertained, too much screen time can negatively affect developmental and social skills, and even lead back to the original problem—boredom.

Screen-Free Fun offers over 400 ideas to disconnect from tech devices and reconnect with our families in a healthier way. You and your child can pick from DIY activities to games to weekend outings. Since many of the activities work well for kids at various ages, your family will be able to grow along with the different projects and make plans for both younger and older siblings alike. You can try indoor projects like homemade slime, outdoor activities like building a fort, or learn more about your favorite destinations with activities like a scavenger hunt in your neighborhood or an i-spy game at the zoo. There is also space for your family to add your own favorite activities so you never forget a great idea or memory! From summer vacation to holiday breaks and every rainy day in between, with this book you and your family will always have something fun to do together—without ever having to resort to a tablet, phone, or computer.

Genres: Nonfiction

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2018

Reviews

[Mary Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of the ideas in Screen-free Fun will bring back memories to readers of a certain age who grew up before smart phones. Most of the activities are good fun, but there are a few that aren't as well thought out as they should be. For example, the author suggests that children ages 6 - 12 can volunteer in an animal shelter, walking dogs and playing with cats. Any well-run shelter would never allow young children to handle stressed animals that might scratch or bite. She also suggests families drop into nursing homes with their instruments to put on a show for the old folks. Again, any decent nursing facility will have scheduled activities planned by a professional. A third idea is to have races at the library balancing books on your heads. Libraries aren't playgrounds, and their materials aren't meant to be used in this way.

If your family sticks with the crafts, games, and sports suggested, great. But please be considerate and don't disrupt other people's homes and workplaces to entertain your kids.

[Collette]

To be truthful, I didn’t fully read every single word, as I could guess what some ideas would describe (like how to play hangman, hide and seek, telephone, making bingo boards, etc.)
I found a handful of new ideas, but I think this is better for moms closer to the start of the parenting road.

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to get some new ideas. It did have some fun ideas. I liked the travel games and outdoor games the most. Most of these are "old hat" so a lot of repeat ideas in different versions, but still some good options. I didn't enjoy the crafty section as much.

[Cheryl]

Instructions too brief, and, as another reviewer says, not all activities have been thought through or play-tested. But even if a new parent only like 5% of the ideas, that is 20 more games or crafts or projects that they can add to their repertoire. Iow, worth checking out if your library already has bought it.

Skimmed August 2021