Even beyond morning routines, reducing screen time can help kids immensely, as allowing them to explore their creativity is more easily achieved when they aren’t eyes to the screens all day long. Screen time can be just as being responsive to boredom and other stimulating activities can replace it when it is limited. Some of our faves include reading books, listening to music/podcasts, doing crafts or artwork, and playing sports or games with the kids. Lately, we have been enjoying Melon’s House Party every school morning and also on longer car rides, since it is so convenient to sync up to our devices on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other major platform. We can even set it up to “Ask Alexa” or “Ask Siri” to play it! Following an ongoing story like this one is so fun for the kids, and brings up many ways we can connect and they can recall and discuss the happenings as well.

Melon gets into all sorts of fun with Couch, and there is a new episode every Wednesday for us once we catch up on all that are available. We never miss our morning or car ride rituals since the streaming aspect makes it so easy to turn on – we can easily just ask a voice assistant to start our podcast each morning, or set it on a schedule to start playing. Lincoln & I have been following the fun story of Melon and look forward to listening to a new episode each morning then discussing it on the way to school. The musical aspect is so fun! We can easily break into dance parties with it. We are always trying to find new ways to expose our kids to fun and educational screen-free content, so this is a great way to get some audio entertainment onboard while doing activities around the house or in car rides.