Phone-free Sundays

One of my 2019 goals is to take a weekly break from social media.  And after setting that as a personal goal, I decided to get the whole family involved.  So yesterday marked our first full month of phone-free Sundays, and today I wanted to share a few thoughts and observations. 

How It Works

To be clear, only the kids are completely phone-free on Sundays.  I myself just stay off social media.  And because my husband isn’t on social media, this weekly break doesn’t really apply to him.  Although, it does positively affect him because we’re all less distracted.

We’re only one month in on this new family habit, but I have definitely noticed a shift.  And not just on Sundays but throughout the week as well.

When the kids plug in their phones on Saturday night (usually around 8:00 p.m.) they know they won’t be checking them again until Monday morning.  I’ll be completely honest.  At 12 (7th grade) and 14 (high school freshman), they weren’t exactly thrilled with this new weekly routine.  Eyes rolled, and I have had to remind certain individuals that they are in fact not ER doctors that must be available at every hour of the day.  The world would, you know, still turn.

But truthfully, I think they’re secretly thrilled to have an excuse to set their phones down and walk away.

Without the distraction of constant text messages or FaceTime calls from friends, they have an opportunity to really relax, and to connect, not only with my husband and I but with each other.

Observations

Sundays are becoming real connection days in our house where we spend more time together, distraction-free.  The kids have voluntarily baked together almost every Sunday since phone-free Sunday became a thing.  I’m not sure they’ve even realized this, but not having their phones on Sunday has given them so much more free time to do other things they enjoy.

I think it’s helpful that our phone-free day is a Sunday because it’s already a slower paced day for our family, usually a day without extra-curricular activities.  So there’s already more time in the schedule to just relax and connect.

I’ve also noticed them getting along better throughout the week as well.  It’s almost as if having some forced downtime away from their phones has sparked more friendly communication between them and an overall better mood.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, they still have their typical sibling arguments.  However, they do seem to be generally a little bit nicer to each other.

For me, being social media free on Sunday has given me back so much free time!  Time for just sitting and enjoying doing nothing.  It’s like I’ve reverted back to what a Sunday looked like when I was in my twenties and social media wasn’t a thing.  And oh my goodness is it just so nice!

So this Sunday fast from our phones and social media just feels like a giant win for all of us!  And it’s definitely a habit that’s here to stay for our family.  It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it was going to be.  In fact, I welcome the weekly break with open arms.  And while I doubt the kids would ever admit to this, I think they enjoy this weekly break too.

Permission to unplug, rest and recharge.  Who knew we didn’t need to ask for permission?   😉