Is Your Family Ready for a Screen Free Week?

By BCN

The San Mateo County Library System is hosting its first "Ditch Your Device Week" beginning today to encourage children to turn off their electronic devices and spend time with their family and friends, a library manager said.

Throughout the week, all 12 San Mateo County Library branches will be hosting events with an emphasis on removing children from the glowing screens of televisions, computers, phones, and other electronic entertainment devices, SMCL Library Services Manager Anna Koch said.

There will be a session for parents called "Media Technology and Early Childhood Development," which will discuss how to monitor children's amount of time using electronic devices and encourage parents to increase their personal interaction with them, Koch said.

"Ditch Your Device Week" runs from today until May 6 and is part of the national campaign for Screen Free Week, which is presented by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. The event has been nationwide since 1996, according to its website.

The events range from dance programs to story times to art projects. At the Half Moon Bay Library on Saturday childrens songwriter/singer Randy Kaplan will be performing at 10:30 a.m. His latest album Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie won the NAPPA Gold Award. His music has been described as "offbeat, smart, and funny, funny, funny," said Joe Toschik, public services librarian.

Also on Saturday the Half Moon Bay Library is having a Comic Book Giveaway.  Just stop by the library and get a free comic book. This event goes on all day.

Then on Sunday the Half Moon Bay Library staff will be at Quarry Park in El Granada as part of San Mateo County's Streets Alive! Parks Alive! program, "which encourages people of all ages to get out and get moving," said Toschik. "We'll have a table there with some craft activities."

A full list of the events can be found at www.smcl.org.

Copyright© 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any
other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc.
is prohibited.

More on Half Moon Bay Patch:

• Severe Injury Accident Shuts Down Highway 84
• How to Keep Your Reusable Bags Bacteria-Free
• Costco Food Court Closed for Health Violations
• Bed Bugs Discovered in Unlikely Place