Screen-Free Week

Tip Sheet

Screen-Free Week is an annual event that traditionally takes place in April. Each year people from around the world make a conscious decision to turn off screens of all kinds for the week.

Screen use can have negative or positive effects, depending on how it’s being used and for how long. There is no one-size-fits-all model for incorporating technology into our everyday lives. The best way to improve digital well-being is to strive to integrate technology into your family’s life in a more meaningful and balanced way.

Screen Free Week is an opportunity to reflect on the role screens play in our individual lives and challenge ourselves to make changes, whether that means making minor adjustments as a family or going cold-turkey for the full week.

 Here are some ways you can find balance during Screen Free Week:

  • Create ‘Screen-Free Zones’ at home. Establish times and areas where different screens will be off-limits to the whole family, like around dinner time until cleanup is done or in the bedroom an hour before going to sleep.
  • Organize activities with family and friends. For each day of the week, make time for at least one leisure activity that you can share with people in your life. Take a walk, start a DIY project (without a YouTube tutorial), or play a board game. As long as you’re having fun and spending time together!
  • Make screen time family time. If your family isn’t completely cutting out digital technology, make screen time interactive by watching, listening or playing together. Turn co-viewing with your kids into a learning opportunity by teaching them to think critically about the media being consumed.

More tips and information:

Using Parental Controls

There are lots of ways of limiting what content your kids can see online, which apps and programs they can access and how much time they can spend online.

Four Tips for Managing Screen Time

Here are four important steps to take to keep screen time under control and make screen use a valuable part of your kids’ lives.

Our Parent Bloggers on Screen Free Week:

Lesson Plans for Teachers:

MediaSmarts and the eQuality Project have recently launched The Disconnection Challenge, a lesson plan for grades 7 to 12 that encourages students to reflect on their screen use and find out what life is like after a week of being “disconnected.”  

We also offer lesson plans addressing similar issues for younger students:

More resources are available on the Screen Free Week website here: https://www.screenfree.org