The draw of the screen is undeniable – well before my son’s first birthday, he was already eager to get his hands on any cell phone left within his reach.  While tablets and smartphones can certainly be a lifesaver in our moments of desperation with our little ones, I worry about how addictive these devices can be.  My prime childhood years took place before most families even had personal computers at home, and I can’t help but feel nostalgic for that low-tech era.  I remember inventing games with my neighborhood friends, riding our big wheels down the hill, getting sprayed with the hose to stay cool in the summer, and hours of entertainment with a huge cardboard box when the family next door got a new fridge.  My son will grow up surrounded by much more technology that I did – there’s no getting around that fact.  But the experiences that make childhood memorable are unlikely to involve playing computer games!  Here are 25 screen-free experiences I want my little guy to have during his childhood years:

1. Fly a kite
2. Go for a nature walk
3. Make shadow puppets
4. Plant a seed and watch it grow
5. Jump in puddles
6. Help mom and dad cook or bake
7. Catch fireflies
8. Ride in a train
9. Jump into a huge pile of fall leaves
10. Feed the ducks
11. Dress up in parents’/grandparents’ old clothes
12. Have a picnic
13. Discover little creatures in rock pools
14. Make mud pies
15. Star gaze – look for shooting stars
16. Pick fruit at a “Pick-Your-Own” farm
17. Go fishing
18. Make s’mores over a bonfire
19. Visit a petting zoo or farm
20. Make paper airplanes
21. Skip rocks on a pond
22. Build a blanket fort
23. Make snow angels
24. Have a movie night with popcorn made from scratch
25. “Camp” in the backyard