How to be a Productive Parent Without Relying on Screens

In today's day and age parenting has seemingly become more challenging; 2 parent working household in which you are expected to work full time, keep the house clean, engage your children, spend quality time with your spouse, all while attempting to emulate the instagram highlight reel which implies everyone has it all figured out.

How could this all be made possible? Well with the life saving use of screens of course! But, no wait if you refer to the American Academy of pediatrics and have 2 under 2 like I do, you will see that babies under the age of 18 months should have no screen time unless it's Facetime (counts as socialization) and those 2-5 years of, no more than an hour of high quality programming, during which time you should be watching with them. Cue the parental debates as seen on the comments sections of reddit and instagram.

Basically while this is a "how-to" blog post I am simply providing some alternative options to help further limit or remove screens altogether depending on your goals. These alternative activities of course continue to follow the purpose of confidence building.

1. Creating a routine for kids will eventually help them cue into times for independent play during which time you can get to your much needed household chores.

2. You can also start to incorporate them into you chores, by turning it into a game. My toddler LOVES to wipe everything and also finds it fun to transfer the wet clothes from the washer to the drier. Not only does this occupy them, they'll feel they are bonding with you while also developing a sense of responsibility and accomplishment.

3. Set up different activity stations with coloring books, puzzles, building blocks, play-doh (make sure it's age appropriate- my toddler still cant manage to not eat the play-doh) and imaginative play toys such as dolls. This will both contribute to their development and also keep them occupied longer.

4. Utilize Naps (if still available to you). I was lucky enough that I somehow was able to get both my girls down at the same time (this has recently gotten away from me) but in any case I would schedule the most pressing tasks during what I like to call my very own "Happening Hour" lol.

5. Early Bird vs Night Owl depending on your energy levels you may choose to get things done without interruptions before or after they are asleep. Giving you tons of praise here, if you can find this energy you truly are a super parent.

6. Tag team when my husband and I are both home, we divide and conquer in which one of us will take the kids while the other does the household chores. This way the kids are having quality time with at least one of us while the other is contributing to creating a harmoniously organized environment.

7. Outdoor Play. We are in the middle of building a playground for the girls as it will be so beneficial for them to be running around and playing on nice days. If you are fortunate enough to have a safe outdoor play space where they can be active and explore, take advantage of that space!

Best of luck! I hope these strategies help simplify your life and reinforce your own confidence in the incredible parent you are!