Submitted by Allison Behnke
(April 3, 2025) — In March of 2025, Haddam-Killingworth Intermediate and Middle School students were invited to participate in a fun poster contest designed to raise awareness about the “Global Day of Unplugging.” There were many special submissions from students at both HKIMS and the HK Home School Community.
Each poster represented a variety of activities that our youth enjoy, such as dancing, art, theater, basketball, fishing, working on the farm, time with friends, and so much more! Haddam-Killingworth Youth and Family Services wishes to highlight and celebrate our kids and families who are purposefully unplugging from devices and finding ways to connect in community and get involved in activities they enjoy. While we selected three top posters, each of these incredible kids who submitted posters are role models for us all!
Brynn Chometa, a 6th grader, explains that “being unplugged is kind of like expressing your creativity instead of focusing on plugging into devices, phones, and other things. I like to craft, bake, and dance!”
Scarlett Lamb, a 5th grader, gave some great advice to other kids and adults that “being unplugged is about finding something you love that you want to focus attention on. If you love it, then you will want to get more involved.”
Karis Torneo, a 4th grader at HKIS, describes what being unplugged means to her: “doing the things you love and doing activities that get you moving, spending time with your family, and enjoying your friends and community”
Jake Pietruszka, age 9, shared that “I choose not to use screens because I enjoy being in nature. I encourage kids to unplug by playing outside and using their imagination. I like to play in my fort, make up games, and dig for treasures.”
These thoughts and suggestions are powerful reminders to all of us to unplug, connect, and discover ways to find joy and involvement in activities you enjoy.
The average American spends more than seven hours looking at a screen every day. That’s 106 days a year. (DataReportal, June 2021). The Common Sense Census (2020) reports that teens spend seven hours and twenty-two minutes on screens, not including school or homework. This number has been rising drastically since 2015. The implications for our kids’ mental health is real and well-described in the book, The Anxious Generation, written by Jonathan Haidt. Mental health concerns have been steadily rising at a rapid rate since 2012 and increased access and time spent with digital world. Haidt describes this in detail with steps and solutions for parents, schools, and community.
Tips for Caregivers to Help Kids and Families Unplug
Stall, Postpone, and Procrastinate
Consider putting off giving your children phones, tablets, and other devices for as long as possible. The later, the better. The Wait ’til 8 Campaign, www.waituntil8th.org is a great resource for ideas and tools to support this delay.
Be the Example
Pulling back on your screen time may take some work and active decision making, but it will make a big difference! Youth flourish with engagement and positive role modeling. Consider non-distracted time together and short discussions around your family choices to do so. If you struggle with pulling back, open and honest conversations with youth will help support them in their struggles.
Cultivate Interest and Talents
As you and your children pull back from screen centrality, digging into new pursuits and interests can be fun! Challenge your kids to rediscover old non-screen related interests and work together to find opportunities in your community to do so.
Get Moving!
Many of us tend to be homebodies. Try encouraging your children and family to recognize while it is sometimes easier not to do something and it takes extra effort to get out there, it almost always feels better to get moving, explore, and get involved.
Be the Cool House
It is noisy, unpredictable, and sometimes messy, but so worth the time and energy! Invite your kids to bring their friends over for no-phone fun! Grab a pizza, host a game night, or even a movie night. Sure, it’s a screen, but it’s a social setting that will uplift spirits, help you to build relationships, and create safe ways for youth to socialize and engage.
Create No-Tech Zones
This might mean no tech at the dinner table or no tech in bedrooms. The current advice from psychologists and researchers is to keep phones out of bedrooms and power down devices at a certain hour (perhaps after 7:00 p.m.) to give teens a chance to unwind mentally from social media stress. Keeping phones out of bedrooms will ensure a good night’s rest without worrying about what is happening in their digital world.
Teach Your Kids About Screens
Rules are important, but sharing stories from the news, books, and concrete data will help your kids understand your limits and expectations. Many resources are available on the HKYFS website, www.hkyfs.org.
HKYFS is proud of all submissions to the Unplugged Poster Contest and hope others are as inspired by the kids who are taking purposeful steps to stay unplugged as we are!
Photo above by Allison Behnke. Left to Right: Brynn Chometa (6th grade), Scarlett Lamb (5th grade), Karis Torneo (4th grade)
