“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and TONY’S® Pizza, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BigPizzeriaTaste http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”
Want your kids to unplug for more family time? Try having a family pizza night!
Do you have kids between the ages of 8 to 18, who are often plugged into some type of electronic? I do. I have four kids that fall into that age range and it’s amazing the amount of time they can spend plugged in. In fact, according to an article on WebMD, a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids spend about 7 and a half hours plugged into some type of electronic device each day! All this time on media devices can take a toll on family time, which is why it’s important to keep dinnertime an electronic free zone and an effort is made to create unplugged activities for the kids.
Pictures taken in stealth mode while my kids were on their electronics.
I’m not going to lie. It isn’t easy to get my kids to the dinner table and my calls to eat dinner often fall on deaf ears. I’m in a constant battle with their electronic toys, but I’ve found a secret – it’s food! One of the best ways for me to get my kids to unplug is to serve one of their favorite foods for dinner, TONY’S® Pizza.
If you have teens, especially boys, there are four sure things – they sleep a lot, they’re always hungry, it costs a small fortune to feed them, and pizza is always on the list of favorite foods. Thankfully, while shopping at Walmart, I found the new 30% larger Tony’s Pizzeria Style pizza that was perfect for my kids’ massive appetite.
I like the fact that Tony’s pizza offers an authentic pizzeria crust that is topped with real cheese and uses Italian-style herbs in the sauce. Plus, the price is so affordable that I was able to pick up three pizzas to satisfy everyone’s taste for around $10! 
Nothing seems to get my kids rushing to the dinner table faster than pizza, a fresh salad, and watermelon.
Now that the kids were all together at the dinner table, we had a chance to talk about their media device usage. I already limit their weekday usage, but I found that they needed help thinking of activities to do together that didn’t include electronic devices. Since I don’t want them spending 7 hours a day glued to a device, we created a list of activities that would help them create family time memories together, while becoming less dependent on their high tech toys.
Ideas to get teens to unplug (and spend time together)
- Family Dinner. As teens get older and have their own schedules (sports & school), it’s important to have the family together for at least one meal each day. It gives them the opportunity to raise questions, have their concerns addresses, unwind, and learn how to carry on a person-to-person conversation.
- Mini Iron Chef challenge. Think of things your kids like to eat and have them recreate it in their own way. My kids decided to have a S’mores challenge to see who can ramp up the normal S’mores with additional ingredients. I’ll be posting their creations later this week on my Instagram and you can help vote for the best S’mores creation. Don’t like S’mores? How about creating the best candied apple challenge?
- Backyard Camping. Each summer, we have a small camp out in our backyard where the kids gather around the camp fire, drink hot cocoa, and just have fun.
- Craft Night. Find a craft that interests your child and have a craft night. For my boys it would be anything to do with paracords (key chains and bracelets) and for my girls it would be anything with glass bottles or mason jars.
- Family Game Night. After dinner, play fun family games. Some of our family favorite games – Cranium, cards, Jenga, Monopoly, Scrabble, Hangman, and Blokus.
- Food eating challenge. Make eating dessert into a fun food eating contest. See who can finish eating a cup of Jell-O fastest through a straw or roll a dice to see how many bites of dessert you can eat, the winner being the first to finish.
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Sherry says
We have pizza night, too, but we usually eat and watch TV. I’m still working on getting everyone to the table. Thanks for linking up and sharing with us at Funtastic Friday. I hope you join us again this week.
Erlene at My Pinterventures says
I know, it’s so hard to get teens to the table all at the same time when everyone is so involved in their electronics. Sometimes I have to call several times to get everyone together. Pizza is one of the few dinners that they all come running.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Hobnob Party – Google +
Tanya @ Mom's Small Victories says
We love pizza night and movie nights too. But I love the ideas to unplug, especially Iron Chef and the eating contests. Thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday Linkup. Pinning to our linkup board and hope you found some great posts to visit this week!
Erlene at My Pinterventures says
My kids had so much fun doing the Iron Chef S’mores Challenge. I posted it on my Instagram and I gave the winner a treat of their picking.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Hobnob Party – Google +
Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily says
having family dinner together & talking about life, goals etc is such an important thing for families! Great ideas!
Erlene at My Pinterventures says
It really is amazing the things kids will talk about with you when you eat together. I really find it enjoyable to hear their thoughts on everything that is going on in their lives.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Hobnob Party – Google +
Heather Hennessee says
My teens drive me crazy with their cell phones! This is a good idea:)
Erlene at My Pinterventures says
Isn’t it scary how much they depend on their phones? It’s so funny when I make them unplug for the weekend…so much whining.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Hobnob Party – Google +
Winnie says
Pizza nights are the best 🙂 We don’t have kids yet, but we do it with friends
Winnie recently posted…עוגת גבינה בכוסות ללא אפייה – עם מרשמלו (תות) לייצוב
Erlene at My Pinterventures says
Pizza night is great with friends too!
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Hobnob Party – Google +
Joanne T Ferguson says
Love pizza nights and a great way for the family to spend quality time together Erlene! Pinned and shared!
#ibabloggers
Erlene at My Pinterventures says
Thanks for pinning Joanne. Yes, family pizza night is a great way to get the kids to the table.
Erlene at My Pinterventures recently posted…Hobnob Party – Google +
Jessy @ The Life Jolie says
I love this- I’m totally not in this place in my life right now (my daughter is 11 months old) but I worry about the teen years because I know how different it is when they’re older, especially with how readily available technology is to kids. Great ideas to keep in mind for later!!
Jessy @ The Life Jolie recently posted…Boozy Gummy Bears
Erlene at My Pinterventures says
It’s really scary how much time teens can spend on their electronics. I have to constantly think of new ways to help them unplug and actually do things (besides sports) together. We just did our mini S’mores challenge and I posted pics of their creations on my Instagram.
Diane says
Great topic and ideas! So nice to unplug and look your family in the eye and enjoy each other! Pizza is THE best game night food!
Diane recently posted…Festive Cherry Almond Cupcakes
Betsy @ Desserts Required says
LOVE your family activity ideas. It is so important to sit down together and enjoy dinner. Pizza is always a winner!
Nicky says
Pizza and movie nights and game nights are favorite ways to get my kids to unplug. You have some great tips to help increase more family time.
Nicky recently posted…How Far Would You Drive? Survey Says…..
Joy @ Joy Love Food says
Family pizza night is a favorite at our house too and I love your ideas about how to get kids to unplug, especially the mini iron chef challenge, my kids would love that!
Joy @ Joy Love Food recently posted…Strawberry Shortcake Scones
KC the Kitchen Chopper says
I’m sure families will find value in this post. Great ideas for getting teens together for relaxation.
Joyce @ it's Your Life says
Yes, I have two teen boys who grab their food and get back on the electronics. At the same time these wonderful teens will suggest taking time to play a game or watch a movie together. Showing some love from the Let’s Get Real Facebook group.
Stephanie says
We always used to have pizza and game night every Friday growing up and it was such a great time. Thanks for the tips and for sharing!