"No, You May Not Play Video Games"

FarmBoy:  "Mom, can I play my DS on the ride home?"

Me:  "Nope."

FarmBoy:  "But Mooooooom, it's an HOUR!"

Me:  "Yup."

FarmBoy:  "What did I do wrong?"

Me:  "Honey, you didn't do anything wrong!  I know it seems like a punishment but video games aren't good for you.  After you play video games you are crabby and argumentative. You can't sit still, can't focus, and end up getting yourself into trouble."

FarmBoy:  "But MOM!"

Me:  "But what?"

FarmBoy: "... I like them."

Me:  "I know, Buddy. It would be easy to let you play them all the time but I have to do what's best for you, not what's easiest. Did you know that the guy who invented IPads didn't even let his kids use them?  That's because he wanted his kids to use their imaginations, to pay outside, to play with other kids, and he knew that the screen time made them think differently. I feel the same way."

FarmBoy:  "But MOOOOM! We're in the CAR!"

(Quick, Mama. Think! He's 10 and a champion arguer. You're going to have to do better or you'll still be having this conversation when you arrive home, in an hour.)

It's Wednesday and he's already had a long, busy week. It's Spring Break at school but My Guy and I still had to work so FarmBoy went to day camp at school. They've done field trips every day. Somehow they managed to make every field trip to somewhere with video games and laser tag. What about the zoo?  Museums, anyone? Nope, just a variety of arcade options with pizza lunch.  Now he's precariously perched at the top of an EMF generated cliff and I need to find him a way down without a crash.

So I gave him my phone.

This is the bail out many of us use with our kids but I don't have any games on my phone. I have a camera and we have an hour drive through the country at dusk.

"Start looking for interesting things. You may take 25 pictures on my phone of the most interesting things you see and we'll look at them together when we get home," I said.

Game On!  In just a few seconds his bad attitude was gone and we were chatting happily about the things we saw. We passed through familiar areas he refers to as Deer Central and Eagle Alley.  I took a few side roads so we'd have new scenery to explore and, as luck would have it, the almost full moon was already high in the afternoon sky.  I slowed down when there weren't any other cars in sight and rolled down windows in the sub-zero wind for opportunities at better shots. By the time we got home (which took 20 minutes longer than usual) the effects of electronics and EMF were long gone.  FarmBoy was calm and good natured and an absolute joy to be with for the rest of the evening. And he took some pretty cool shots. He's got his mama's eyes and his mama's eye.