Survived Analogue August: Bring on Analogue April!

We did it! We  made it through Analogue August with more rounds of Uno than is strictly healthy for any family unit. Four whole weeks where our boys went without iPads, phones, or the comforting glow of Netflix (bar one rainy day where we watched KPop Demon Hunters… as a family).

Did we thrive? Did we suffer? The honest answer is: yes.

The Ups

• We were always on the go. But when there was time to fill, the boys rediscovered the 18^th century game of corn hole. Throwing bags of corn at holes seemed to be a perfect phone-free pastime.

• We had dinners that were interactive. Admittedly, most of our meals contained hot chips and pints of beer with action on the beach to keep us entertained.

• The boys finished actual books, with pages and spines.

• Tim introduced the boys to navigating old school with a large A0 map of Corsica, and they didn’t get lost.

  

  Escaping to Sudoku after 50 rounds of Uno.

The Downs

• The boys are terrible losers at what ever game we were playing, almost to the point you’d let them win...

• Useless fact checking - we didn’t have Google at our finger tips to resolve arguments about who was right. This also made us realise that the boys only believed Google, not their parents.

• Guilt. I had a few work things I needed to keep an eye on, and found it was me that let the side down needing to check emails.

The Surprising Bit

We didn’t have as many meltdowns as expected; in fact the boys had far less. They started playing together without prompting (but still fought a lot). There was no requesting tech time… they just knew the rules for August. And even more surprising is that they are still totally accepting that there is an ongoing ‘tech ban’ at home with no end date.

And Now…

We’re back, Tim and I are re-screened (a little) and already planning Analogue April.

This time, we want to rope in more families, schools, workplaces - anyone brave enough to step away from their phones for a week, a weekend, or even just an evening.

So - April’s coming. Join us for a month of challenges, experiments, and probably some light weeping. If Analogue August taught us anything, it’s that stepping away from screens doesn’t just change your day, it changes the pace of your whole life. And sometimes, that’s exactly what we all need.

Wish us luck. Again.

Tim, Amelia, Indy and Rocco.