A WEEKLY TRADITION
Screen-Free Sunday
phones in the basket, parents included
One day a week, the whole family puts the phones, tablets and laptops in a basket by the door, then goes and does something real instead. A walk, an op-shop wander, a bake, a bike ride. Nobody scrolls. Everybody remembers it.
The whole family, off their
phones, out in the real world,
one day a week.
HOW IT WORKS
One basket, one day, no screens
01
Phones in the basket
Sunday morning, everyone drops their phone, tablet and laptop into one basket by the door. Parents first. Out of sight is the whole trick.
02
Pick something real
Choose one thing to do out in the world together: a bush walk, an op-shop hunt, a bike ride, baking, the library, a park. Let a different person choose each week.
03
Phones back at dinner
Screens come back out after dinner, and you swap the best moment of the day around the table. That is the part everyone starts to look forward to.
Parents go first, every time. Screen-Free Sunday only works if the grown-ups put their phones in the basket too.
WHY IT WORKS
Less phone, more day
A phone in a pocket is a door that’s always half-open, ready with a quick check, a buzz, a glance. Putting every device in one basket closes that door for everyone at once, so no one feels singled out and no one is quietly scrolling while the others try.
Doing something out of the house is the other half. An empty Sunday at home drifts back to screens; a plan, even a small one like an op-shop and a hot chocolate, gives the day somewhere to go. The kids grumble for about twenty minutes. Then they forget they ever wanted the phone.
You’re not banning screens. You’re showing them the day is better without one.
MAKE IT YOURS
Make it fit your week
Start with a morning
A whole day feels big at first. Begin with a screen-free Sunday morning, then let it grow on its own.
The Sunday jar
Write twenty cheap, close-to-home outings on paper. When no one can decide, pull one from the jar. (The printable has a starter list.)
Older kids & teens
Let them plan the whole day, budget and all. A teen who chose the outing is a teen who left their phone in the basket.
FREE PRINTABLE
The Sunday kit
One A4 sheet that does three jobs: a family pledge for the fridge, a set of cut-out outing ideas for your Sunday jar, and a spot to record the best bit of each week.
- A4, prints on any home printer
- Twenty ready-made, low-cost outing ideas to cut out
- A year of “best bit of the day” lines to fill in
FREE. NO ACCOUNT. STRAIGTH TO YOUR INBOX.
