Saving Time

We have a new system here at the Hungry household for doling out much-coveted screen time:  the kids earn 30-minute increments of screen time by being outside for 30 minutes.  That doesn't mean they can cash in their earnings anytime, only that when they are given the opportunity for screen time they have to pay for it.  If they haven't been outside during the week, they won't have anything banked for screen time on the weekend (we only allow screen time on the weekends, unless unusual circumstances arise).  This would not apply to family viewings or activities, i.e. they don't have to "pay" for our Saturday movie afternoons.  We just wanted both a way to encourage them to go outside (they enjoy being outside, but they're usually resistant to the actual transition to going outside, having fun once they get there; often they just stay outside after school but the chill has been chasing them in immediately) and a way to emphasize that screen time wasn't a given. We haven't decided if their earnings can be removed for consequences--if you hit your sibling, do I take away 30 minutes of screen time that you had already earned?  I don't like taking away earnings, but it's one of the only things they value and is a privilege not a right.  When we just say we're going to take away screen time on the weekend, with the consequence coming sometimes days later than the inappropriate behavior, we forget or it loses its efficacy.  This way it is immediate and tangible.  I don't want the 30-minute tickets to become bargaining tools--they earn them only for going outside, not for chores or anything else--or punishment, though.  Hopefully, it's very straightforward (and I imagine I won't be taking any away; we'll see, but they've been testy and testing recently).

Now, the big trick is:  do adults have the same restrictions?  I surf constantly, usually on my smartphone, to the point that I sometimes don't even realize I'm doing it. I restrict it when the kids are around, but it still sucks up time.  What if I earn surfing time not from being outdoors but from being on my treadmill?  That's incentive.  But am I honest or disciplined enough to conform to it?  It wouldn't cover "work" emails--for Girl Scouts, Reflections art contest, historic house volunteer work (an update on that soon!), or hospice work--or probably even blogging which is a specific activity with clear boundaries for me, but for Pinterest, FB, weather sites, random readings of the paper and other sites.  To help break the habit, I've been keeping my smartphone in my purse.  I don't need it out when I'm home, really only needing it for outings; otherwise, I have a computer and telephone here.

It's not exactly our New Year's Resolution, just a way to navigate computers and outdoors here at the least outdoor-appealing time of year.