Healthier & Safer Summer Plan
Being Active
We established that he would need to spend 2 hours/day outdoors and choose one of the following activities to engage with:
Basketball Hoops
We signed him up for Basketball training with a private coach, which will increase to twice a week in the summer.
Biking
We’re giving him a new bike for his birthday, but shhhhhhh!
Jogging
His basketball coach says he needs to jog and increase his cardio activity on the days he’s not training, so we’re encouraging him to do that as well.
Family Time
We also plan to do at least once a week, activities which involve hiking, since we have a lake and a beautiful trail right behind our home; my husband is taking him fishing around our area and we also plan to take him to parks we haven’t visited and do some picnic time there!
This past week, we camped in Cape Cod and we took the bike trail and walked 6 miles total to the beach and back.
Screen Time
That’s where it gets tricky because we both work from home, so we can’t be out and about all the time in the summer. I organized my schedule, though, to take Thursday and Friday off from meetings with clients, so we can always plan something those days.
We also try to understand his interests in online gaming and be part of it by converting it into a family activity. We cannot really match him in all those stimulation games, so we tried to find a game that suits all of us. We decided on a game that we could say is an online version of Settlers of Catan. Getting involved in our kid’s day-to-day activities means we get more family bonding time.
However, in regards to his screen time, we’ve found a great way to manage and reduce it using the Circle with Disney:
BedTime:
Filter:
Pause:
Insights:
Circle Go
This seems like a great product to have if you have children. I know it’s hard to keep track of everything all the time, but this seems to make it easier!
We love our Disney Circle … it is such a handy device to have for every home and yes, I totally agree about teen screen time. Gotta love the innovation and tech of our era/generation.
I’ve just started seeing this on some of the hardware sites I visit and it looks like a handy tool! That also reminds, me, I need to dig the kids bikes out.
Sounds like a great tool and a fantastic schedule you’ve set up! Mine are too small for this now (they’d rather be outside than anything else) but I can definitely see this working in the future!
I love Circle with Disney! It helps me limit my children’s screen time as well as filtering out content.
I love this concept. In the summer the kids stay up later than I do sometimes, so I love that this can monitor their usage
I hadn’t heard of Circle with Disney until now. Sounds awesome. Perfect for families.
This is such a great idea. My son is 12 and my daughter is 5 and they both use the internet. We have parenting setting on their tablets right now but they aren’t this detailed. I want to level of detail.
You did a good job describing what it does and I’m very interested in it. But, I don’t understand what it is. Is it an attachment that you connect to your router or like an app that you download on each device?
This is such a great tool for managing time spent on devices. Sounds great to get the kids to go enjoy the outdoors and limit their screen time.
This is so cool! I am so getting this for my kids this summer.
This sounds awesome. I have never heard of such a thing before. I am going to check it out and see if its available over here in the UK. Your Summer plan sounds great! Happy Summer!! xxx
So many awesome features from this app and I think it’s amazing! I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about it. I like the fact that you can keep your kids safe especially from the internet.
Disney is always doing something innovative. Kids are totally addicted to so many screens tvs, tablets and phones so this is a great app and device to help them manage this especially over the summer.
I’ve heard once about Circle, and it’s really cool! This would be perfect to my nephew.
My son is 6 years old, and this is what I need to limit him using phone, especially at night!
I have to check that one for my kids.
I understand how tricky it is when you work at home but with proper scheduling, it is manageable. Circle with Disney sounds like a good one.
A lot of us parents struggle with limiting screen time. I love all the features included in the app, especially the bedtime and filter features.
You learn something new every day! This looks like an ideal tool not only for a teen who can get easily bored in the summer but also a blogger who may spend a little too much time on her laptop! I may have to give it a try.
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This sounds Amazing! I need to try Circle. What a fantastic way to help find balance with your family time.
I’m that mom that kicks her kids out to play no matter what. I also change the wi-fi code weekly, and will change it up as needed. It is SO important for kids to get a healthy balance of screen and outside. I don’t think the screen is bad, I just don’t think that it should be the ONLY source of imagination and play for a kid.
We have a limited screen with one Tv set in the common room and everyone has to sit together.
I have heard really good things about the Disney Circle!! If I had kids I would totally get one!!
Great article. This seems like a great idea for all parents to monitor the content their kids see.
Too much screen time during the summer when it is gorgeous outside bothers me. This looks like a great way to come to a much needed compromise.
This is a great article, kids these days are always on their gadgets and barely play outside of it. Physical play is very important for a child’s health because it gives the body a much-needed exercise and they can practice a lot of motor skills.
The monthly subscription price is not bad and seems far worth it for all the features provided! I think this is an absolutely wonderful idea! Heard nothing but great things about it too!
What a great device! Summer is so difficult, finding the right balance between things like being outdoors vs. screen time. I like how easy it makes it to manage and monitor screen time.
I love that product can be used while on vacation. I think this is super helpful for my family.
It can be so easy to lose track of how much time the kids are spending on the internet. Once school is out it can be even harder. I will have to pick one of these up to try.
This program looks like so much fun, I want to use it to manage my own screen time. Seriously, I think it could make me way more productive than I am now.
What a great way to manage screen time. I know so many little kids who’s screen time electronics use is absolutely out of control. I can definitely see this helping their parents keep their sanity.
This sounds like an awesome tool! I hate it when my kids get so caught up with their tablets that they won’t do anything else. This will be helpful this summer for sure!
I think it’s definitely good to talk to the kids and establish some rules. Balancing screen time with outdoor time is a good idea.
Circle with Disney sounds fantastic. I wish I would have had one when my kids were younger. I will have to share this with my Sister.
It seems like you’ve established a really good routine of activeness with your teen. Over the summer too much screen time can really be a big thing. I will check out Disney’s new thing here. I love anything that makes regulating things like this, easier.
What a great idea for summertime! This would totally help my whole family limit the screen time.
What a great product. I like that you can pause the internet and the BedTime feature is awesome.
This looks like a GREAT setup! I love that it can be used on the go too, so the kids can’t just wait until they aren’t home to get themselves into trouble when no one’s looking.
I love this idea. My granddaughter was visiting this weekend, and all I saw was the top of her head as she played on her phone. Definitely need to limit screen time.
My kids are both age 5 and under. Our rule is no screen time under after 5 o’clock in the evening. Play is much more important.
Oh my gosh I’m totally getting this! I have a hard time remembering to tell him to get off the computer or the TV because I’m doing 50 million other things. This is a perfect solution.
I love the filters and the bedtime limits with the Circle! We joined the swim team and have set limits on screen time this summer.
Just heard about this circle thing from Disney. This would be great to give the kids some screen time and remind them to go outside and enjoy a game or something. Family time is really important.
THIS! This right here. My kids are glued to their devices at all times. Not anymore! Muahahahahaha.
This is tailor made for my family! My kids are generally well behaved, but we do have fights about screen time from time to time. Thanks!
I need to give Circle a try! I’m by no means a troglodyte, but my kids… I mean, dang. How long CAN a human be staring at a screen?
I love the idea of being able to limit screen time. Having it all manageable in one place is another huge must-have!
I think Circle sounds awesome. I just found out about it and definitely want to check it out for my family.