Electronic device ban brings positive changes to P.E.I. family

A family from O'Leary, P.E.I., says there's been more harmony in their home since they removed electronic gadgets from their sons' lives.

Tamara Currie said her three sons — aged 20 months, six and eight years old — were spending too much time online and it was interfering with everything from their homework to their sleep.

"The electronics [were] clearly affecting their life," she said.

Currie and her husband didn't wean the boys from screen time. Instead, they took away the boys' tablets, gaming devices and their bedroom TV — which they used mainly to watch YouTube — cold turkey.

Currie said she stressed to her sons that the change wasn't a punishment but rather a shift in thinking for the entire family.

"It was our fault as parents that we brought these electronics into their life," said Currie.

Within just 12 days, she said, her sons seemed more rested, settled, focused and happy.

"A lot more conversation. Their sleeping patterns [are] unreal."

On the third night, when Currie went up to get the two older boys ready for bed, she got a surprise.

"They had both put themselves to sleep," she said. "I was floored."

Her eldest son is also finding it easier to get up in the morning and his teacher has noticed a difference in his attitude.

"We are so fortunate that we are kind of opening our eyes right now because they are young," said Currie. "I have friends that have older children and they are in over their head, they feel."

Currie and her husband plan to reintroduce the devices with time limits on random days so they can gauge how the boys are reacting.