A screen free afternoon · Tips
A screen free afternoon in University City: what experienced parents do
None of this is complicated. All of it is the difference between a good hour and a difficult one.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Weekends bring more of University City out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Before you leave the house
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
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.
When you arrive
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.
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.
While you are there
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
On the way home
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.
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.
Where is New Life Entertainment?
Two centres: 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214, and 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027.
Planning your visit in University City
If you are coming from University City, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
If two adults are coming, split up rather than shadowing the same child. One at the rail, one free, and everybody has a better hour.
If one child is nervous, let them watch for the first ten minutes without being asked to join in. Almost all of them join in.
Coming in from University City with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
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
Anything time critical is worth a phone call first: hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.