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By Mom Unplugged, June 26, 2007 7:53 pm

There has been a lot of press and controversy surrounding this book. I first heard about it in an interview with one of the authors on public radio’s On Point (click here to listen). I found the interview to be vaguely annoying, in part due to one of the “guests,” but I also felt that the moderator was not handling things well either. However, the subject matter and theory behind the book sounded so interesting that I absolutely had to check it out. It seemed to be fitting for our unplugged family, and for Unplug Your Kids.

This book is coauthored by two British brothers who wanted to share with the world the activities that they enjoyed, and subjects that had fascinated them as children. According to the interview I heard, the authors are frustrated with plugged-in children, interested only in x-boxes, computer games and TV.

The book soared to the top of the best-seller list in England and now is climbing steadily here. Apparently certain subjects were altered to appeal to the American market (ex. cricket was removed, baseball was added). It is really sort of an encyclopedia of activities and knowledge “for boys.” The “for boys” part is what seems to have stirred up all the controversy.

Call me a wimp, but for better or worse, I am a very non-confrontational person and I really don’t want to get into a feminist, nature vs. nurture, girls vs. boys, or any other kind of debate here or anywhere else. All I can say is that the title does not bother me in the least. Might some girls like this book? Yes. Might some boys NOT like this book? Yes. Could/should the authors have called it something else? I don’t know. End of subject. I want to talk about the book, not the controversy.

This book is a bit of an encyclopedia, or guidebook, to certain activities and knowledge that might be considered lost on today’s youth. Even the cover and marbleized end papers of the book recall a bygone era.

The introduction is wonderful and explains the whole premise of this book: unplug your kids! Here is the first paragraph:

“In this age of video games and cell phones, there must still be a place for knots, tree houses, and stories of incredible courage. The one thing that we always say about childhood is that we seemed to have more time back then. This book will help you recapture those Sunday afternoons and long summers-because they’re still long if you know how to look at them.”

Here, here! I so agree!

As for the rest of the book, it contains an odd array of activities (for example: Making a Periscope, Coin Tricks, Charting the Universe, Making a Battery, Marbling Paper, Secret Inks, Making Crystals, and Making Cloth Fireproof) and very diverse information (ex. Famous Battles, Navigation, The Fifty States, Baseball’s Most Valuable Players, The Rules of Rugby, Latin Phrases Every Boy Should Know, Books Every Boy Should Read, Navajo Code Talkers Dictionary, and The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World). There is even a brief, two page section on advice about girls which might offend some, but I found quite amusing (for example: “Avoid being vulgar. Excitable bouts of windbreaking will not endear you to a girl…”).

I have spent quite a few evenings reading this book in bed, and have learned a lot. It is really fascinating to me! The book is too advanced for my just-turned-5-year-old boy and also for my 6-almost-7-year-old-girl. We could maybe try a few of the activities together, but they won’t be reading it cover to cover for a while yet.

When they are older it will definitely be a fun reference for them. We’ll skip the sections on “Hunting and Cooking a Rabbit,” and “Tanning a Skin,” but some of the other information and activities will be perfect later on down the road.

The whole point is simple: kids should be out in nature and experiencing life, not sitting in front of a screen. The aim of this book is to provide a little non-preachy inspiration and some fun ideas for things to do with your kids that don’t involve a screen or a joystick.

If you are at all concerned about the political correctness of the book, or the suitability of any of the suggestions or information, then I would advise you to check it out of the library before buying it. Make sure that you are comfortable with it and that it is right for you.

I, however, love it and think it will be a fun book for us.

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By Mom Unplugged, April 14, 2007 11:57 am

Today I am uninspired as to a post. Yesterday’s rather philosophical post (“Why Am I Doing This?”) wore out my few remaining brain cells.

People always ask me, what my kids do with their time without TV. So perhaps today I will just post some pictures about what my kids are up to these days with all those boxes I am saving for my future fame and fortune on Ebay. Who really needs all those pricey toys anyway?

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By Mom Unplugged, April 13, 2007 2:54 am

This blog thing has become obsessive. My husband calls it my “soft addiction.” I guess there are worse things to be addicted to: drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex in public places, catnip…

This addiction all started thanks to a friend of mine whom I shall call my “enabler,” or “E” for short. You know who you are! You…YES YOU!!!

E said to me one day…

“You always pick such cool and unusual gifts for my daughter, have you ever thought about writing a shopping blog?”

“A blog?” I said, “What’s that?” (I have told you all many times that I live under a rock).

E pulled out her laptop and introduced me to the mysterious world of the “Blogosphere.”

“See, she said, I have one too!”

I thought I knew my friend pretty well, but if she had told me she liked to run around her yard naked at midnight under the full moon, I couldn’t have been more surprised.

“You do????” I said.

And so…the seed of my addiction was planted in the fertile but very bored soil of my brain. I thought about it, and Googled it, and thought about it some more. Why not try it I thought. Just once. After all, E does it. But I will only try a little, and only just this one time.

Well…that was January and now it is April…and I CAN’T STOP!!

Something on NPR the other day really made me think even more about why I am spending so much time doing this. There was a piece by a college student about the narcissism of today’s young people. One of the claims she made was that the popularity of blogging is an indicator, or perhaps a result, of this increase in narcissism. Wait a minute, I thought, I have a blog! Am I a narcissist too?

I have thought long and hard about this. But I don’t believe that blogging, my kind of blogging anyway, is about narcissism. I do not write because I think that I am such a fascinating and wonderful person that I owe it to the world to share my every thought, emotion, and daily event. For me it is a social past time.

I do have actual, “real-life” friends. In fact, in my current small town, I have met more wonderful people than I have ever met since I left grad school. So why should I feel the need for “virtual” friends and acquaintances?

The simple answer is that, although it is entirely my choice and I am grateful to be able to afford to do so, it is lonely being at home alone with a baby and/or a 4 and 6 year-old (depending on school schedules and illnesses). I can only change so many diapers, wipe so many noses, and referee so many battles before I feel my neurons fizzling and popping one by one in a slow and painful decline…one “mom” at a time.

The complicated answer is that technology has brought us social isolation. Cell phones, faxes, email, and the internet enable us to work and carry on with the business of life without the need for face to face, human contact. Perhaps blogging is a way for us to reach out and connect with others of similar interests and backgrounds, just as we might have “gathered in the town square” 200 years ago.

The other aspect that fascinates me about modern technology is that although it does promote physical isolation, it also makes the world a much smaller place. I am in awe of my Clustermap and my “stats.” When an internet cafe patron in China or a cat-lover in Europe can read this small town Arizona mother’s words within seconds of their “publication,” that is totally amazing! I am connecting with people I never would have known 200, 100, or even 10 years ago.

This desire to reach out and connect with others is inherent in human-nature. To me, that is what blogging is all about. If blogging is by definition narcissistic, then so are all friendships and relationships. And that, I refuse to believe.

So, thank you E for being the “pusher” of my addiction and dragging me out from under my rock. Even though I am not exactly “unplugged” anymore now that I blog, I am connected, and that is what really matters in life!

Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer penywise for this great picture!

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By Mom Unplugged, April 6, 2007 10:25 am

This one is very simple and has been around for a long time. I believe that string games exist in just about every culture. Really all you need is a piece of string, but this set is nice because it comes with a sturdy string as well as a book of instructions.

The instructions are simply presented and well-illustrated so that children can learn the two person Cat’s Cradle game as well as how to make string-figures like Witch’s Broom, Eiffel Tower, and Jacob’s Ladder.

This makes a great travel game (it is easy to pack a string!) or stocking stuffer. My 6 year-old loved it and has taught her friends how to play. It brought back memories for me too. I discovered that I can still remember how to make Cat’s Whiskers after 30+ years!

This second book, is nice to have too:

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By Mom Unplugged, April 1, 2007 10:58 am

Today we have decided to get TV. The satelite kind with 500 channels. APRIL FOOLS!!!

April 1st is here already which means that warmer weather is on the way…gardening will soon begin…and Spring Break is almost over! Yipee! How do you homeschooling Moms do it?

Our week started off fairly stressfully. The kids were getting used to being home all day, and I was dealing with a sick, whiny baby and habituating myself to constant noise, chaos, and “Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom….” I meant to get out my “Mom-Clicker ” (see my post - The M-word) for a Spring Break Mom-Tabulation, but never quite got around to it.

As the days wore on however, we all settled down. The weather was mostly too cold for outside play, and the baby was sick so no friends could come over to play for risk of infection. The kids built kitchen chair playgrounds and sofa forts, set up a “Bead-Shop” and “sold” me beads (see today’s photo). Click here to see what they did yesterday morning.

We tidied the terrible Clutter Pits that they call their rooms. Usually I find that it is best to do this when they are absent so certain items can “disappear” gracefully, if you know what I mean. But this time I couldn’t stand it anymore and waiting until next week was not an option for my mental health. My 6 year-old daughter surprisingly must have been in a tidy-up mood (for the first time ever) and agreed to part with two giant boxes full of stuff to donate!

Tomorrow we will be back to normal. Breakfast, getting dressed, making lunches, driving to school, then…silence, wonderful silence!

This is the way we spend our time without TV. Sometimes, after 99 “moms” or so, I would just like to be able to send them away to watch something and leave me alone, but I am glad that we choose not to do that. Life seems much more “right” this way, with the Bead Shops and sofa torture!