A screen free afternoon · Compare
A screen free afternoon in Antioch: how it compares to other indoor days out
An honest look at where it fits.
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.
If Antioch is home, this is the sort of place you end up returning to rather than ticking off. That changes what a first visit is worth planning around.
What it does differently
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.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Where other options win
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
How to decide
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.
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.
The short version
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Bring a snack for afterwards rather than during. Hungry children leave early and full children want to stay.
Questions parents ask
Is there screen time involved?
The machines are levers and cables. The ice is ice.
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.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
Planning your visit in Antioch
Plenty of the families in the room on a weekday morning have come from somewhere like Antioch. Nobody is local to a mall attraction; everybody has driven.
Tell a nervous child what is going to happen in the order it will happen. Surprise is the thing they mind, not the activity.
If two children are visiting together, plan for them to split up. Doing different things in the same room is the point of a room with different things in it.
The drive back to Antioch is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
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
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.