I’m dating myself by admitting this, but unplugging wasn’t a thing when we were kids…mostly because we didn’t have anything from which to unplug.
The Good ‘Ol Days
We didn’t have cell phones, tablets, or computers. A few of us had Ataris but attention spans for simple games like River Raid or Frogger waned quickly. We only had a few TV stations & none of the shows were exactly bingeworthy.
Our lives, and our summers in particular were a constant flurry of activity, discovery, friendship, & fun.
Born before the 90’s? Remember the lazy, hazy Summer days of our youth? Where our moms barely got breakfast down our throats before we were rushing out the door to go on our next, great adventure?
Remember returning home just before sundown to catch fireflies, exhausted, but elated? Can you smell the campfire and the s’mores?
Do you remember what it was like to truly participate in a moment instead of watching the moment through your phone’s camera screen?
If you’re old enough to recall those days, let’s bring them back for the younger generations to enjoy. Every crazy entertainment idea we had as kids were unplugging ideas. And I’m not just saying that out of nostalgia.
Unplugging is Good For You
We’re a tech firm. We like tech. It’s what we do. But we’re not oblivious to the reality that like most things done to excess, tech can be harmful. Studies abound showing the detrimental effects of excessive screen time on children.
Dr Aric Sigman, A Fellow at the Britain’s Royal Society of Medicine states in Psychology Today that when children spend too much time in front of screens, too young, “The ability to focus, to concentrate, to lend attention, to sense other people’s attitudes and communicate with them, to build a large vocabulary—all those abilities are harmed.”
Too much screen time can be harmful to adults as well; from the myriad of preventable diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle to the reduction of sleep quality. Taking the day off from electronics will do you well.
So get out & enjoy the summer with your kids & grandkids. If you don’t have a kid, borrow a niece or nephew. Or be a kid yourself. Just get out there!
So let’s look at some…
Unplugging Ideas for Summer
If you’re local to the Lehigh Valley area, we’ll link to sites. If not, use our list as a jumping point to research your area.
Outdoor Unplugging Ideas
- Nature – Visit one of our beautiful PA State Parks for biking, hiking, fishing, boating, camping, and more!
- Local Parks – Play frisbee, ball, soccer, tag, jump rope, or fly a kite. You can hike, watch hawks, learn about canal history & more, right here in our Lehigh Valley Parks.
- Explore your town on foot…or another one close to you. We took a walk one day in Northampton, PA & found over 40 small businesses & activities within a two block radius of our shop. You might be surprised at all the hidden gems you’ve driven past and never noticed.
- Catch some fireflies – Learn how to catch fireflies carefully as their numbers are dwindling.
- Campfire & s’mores – we love switching up the regular chocolate for peanut butter cups & Mr Goodbar
- Bike & Scooter Riding
- Swimming – Northampton Public Pool, Coplay Public Pool, Catty Pool
- Fishing, Camping & Swimming – Evergreen Lake
- Yard Sales & Flea Markets – Saylorsburg Flea Market or check craigslist for local yard sales
- Scavenger Hunt
- Make a Veggie/Flower Garden – Skip the big box stores…get your plants locally (google greenhouses near me). You’ll get personalized service, expert advice, & stronger, healthier plants.
- Don’t have land? That’s ok. Try container gardening.
- Build a Tree Fort
- Water Balloon Fight & Sprinklers
- Local Concerts – Bethlehem Steelstacks Free Concerts and you can check the Catasauqua Borough website for concerts during the summer
- Ice Cream – Visit Konkrete Creamery in Northampton or The Blue Mountain Drive-In in Danielsville.
- Teach your kids a skill – What do you know how to do? Whether it’s woodworking, harvesting & canning the veggies from your garden, cooking, another language, music, car or tractor repair, or painting… just to name a few, it’s valuable. Their little developing brains are sponges! Give them a leg up on life… help them learn.
Indoor Unplugging Ideas
- If it’s raining, throw on your bathing suits, kick off your shoes, and go jump in some puddles!
- Craft Day – Visit our Pinterest page for Recycled Craft ideas.
- Create a Family Tree
- Read a book – Check out your local library
- Take a trip to Jim Thorpe & visit the Asa Packer Mansion & The Old Jail Museum & Bear Mountain Butterfly Sanctuary
- Not in the Lehigh Valley, but worth the trip to Doylestown – The Mercer Museum
- Ice Skating at Ice Arena in Whitehall & Steel Ice Center in Bethlehem
- Lehigh Valley Zoo
- Visit the Blacksmith in Downtown Bethlehem
- The DaVinci Science Center in Allentown
- The Crayola Factory in Easton
Need more fun? See our post Unplugging for Fall for even more unplugging ideas, or visit the Morning Call’s Go Guide online.
Though Summer may be halfway through, I challenge you to take the rest of the season, and get out from behind those screens!
If you need your electronics fixed, don’t spend your time worrying about them. Drop them off with us & go have fun! It’s our job & our mission to take the stress out of tech. We’re here in Northampton, PA and we’re open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
Enjoy everything the Lehigh Valley & the rest of this beautiful, wide world has to offer.
-Shannie