A screen free afternoon · Occasion
A screen free afternoon for a family day out in China Grove
The occasion changes the planning more than the activity does, so this is mostly about the planning.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
The drive back to China Grove is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
Why it fits the occasion
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
The feedback loop is the same one games use - do a thing, see a result, adjust - except it happens with hands, in a room, with other people watching.
How the day runs
What replaces a screen has to be more interesting than a screen, which rules out most of the obvious answers. A machine a child actually controls is one of the few that works.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
What to arrange first
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Small things that help
The feedback loop is the same one games use - do a thing, see a result, adjust - except it happens with hands, in a room, with other people watching.
Bring less than you think. Coats and bags are the part of the visit nobody enjoys managing.
Questions parents ask
Is there screen time involved?
The machines are levers and cables. The ice is ice.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
What are the opening hours?
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
Planning your visit in China Grove
Nothing about the visit assumes you know the area. The centre is inside Concord Mills, which is signposted from everywhere in Concord and impossible to miss once you are there.
Feed them first. Every attraction in the world is improved by not being hungry in it.
Let the child choose what to do first even when it is the thing you would have chosen last. The order matters less than the choosing.
Families around China Grove who have done it once tend to plan the second visit differently: shorter, earlier in the day, and with the machine the child liked in mind.
The practical details
- XCAV ZONE — 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214: four child-operated machines over a ball pit.
- ICE PARK — 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027: a real rink with bumper cars on the ice.
- Opening hours — 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
- Phone — +1 (424) 387-6232 · +1 (615) 968-4925
- E-mail — info@newlife-entertainment.com
The two centres are at 433 Opry Mills Drive in Nashville and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd in Concord, open 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.