Defaulting to screens is an easy go-to for a parent who needs to keep kids quiet and occupied, especially when out in public. We've all done it and we know there are legitimate times where it's a workable short-term strategy for various situations. But should it be the norm? At the restaurant, at the doctor's office, at a sibling's baseball game... it's concerning to see screens takeover these spaces at younger and younger ages.
Rather than parent-shaming, we want to encourage those who are fighting against the grain. We've seen parents attend a middle school band concert with their young children and instead of pulling up YouTube, they have a bag of Hotwheels cars. Rockstars! We always try to approach parents like this to encourage them, which got us thinking about how we could inspire others to be intentional with encouragement as well. Let's face it, packing a tote of coloring books, crayons and Hotwheels takes more forethought than handing over your smartphone. So if parents are going to be that intentional to go a harder road, we think they deserve to be recognized and encouraged!
To that end, we created something called a Tech-Free Encouragement Token. It's a small wooden circle that says "You've been spotted in a tech-free parenting win" on one side, with the instruction to "pass this token on" on the reverse. The goal is for us to use these as a simple way to recognize the effort other parents have put into intentionally doing something tech-free. And hopefully, the encouragement will get passed on, with whole communities lifting each other up and placing value on the "old school" ideas that keep kids engaged in tactile experiences.
We can't change the world all at once, but maybe we can change someone's day. Maybe we can let them know that they're not alone and that the effort to go a slower and duller route is actually much more enriching in the end.
We're selling these tokens as a way to fund other projects to help families. We have them available in packs of 5 for $10 (+s/h). If you're interested in buying some, simply send us a message!