I took an extreme route to get my kids off screens – and it paid off

The kids’ tablets sat on the kitchen bench, inanimate subjects of a serious discussion. The four-wheel drive was packed, goodbyes were underway, and we had a rough plan in mind for the next week of camping and road tripping.

But before we left, there was one important bridge to cross. Do we take the technology, which will no doubt help while through the long hours on the road or do we be brave, and leave them behind?

Like many kids out there, my children love their screen time. They trawl through videos on YouTube, flex their creativity on Minecraft, and get served endless ads on strange games they have downloaded.

Screen time is a terrific help when we’re grinding through the daily run of dinner preparation, lunchboxes, the washing of bodies and clothing. Especially when most parents are holding down full-time work.

It can quickly slip into too much of a good thing, and my thinking here was simple: If the screens were in the car, the kids would be fiending for screen time.

I would quickly relent from the badgering, and they would probably have their necks bent for the majority of the trip.

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If we left them at home in a drawer, then maybe we could enjoy some free-range conversation and empty-minded window staring instead.

And isn’t that the whole point? One thing I love about bush camping is the lack of phone reception, and the forced sense of disconnection you get from collecting firewood, tending to camp, and plotting your route on Maps.

Not feeling that thing buzzing in your pocket, explaining you need to “just take this call”, or checking what show you want to stream next.

I want this for myself, and I want it for my kids.

So I was brave. Reckless, perhaps.

My two daughters, aged eight and nearly seven, would be totally screen free for the next week. With only Dad, a ute and the tree-covered mountains as company.

There were five nights planned, with long days on highways and bush tracks. And of course, a smattering of campsites spots to check out along the way.

Oh, and there would be no phone reception.

Some parents out there couldn’t fathom such a thing, and I get it. But I’m here to tell you everything went OK. Better than OK, in fact. It was excellent.

We travelled north from our home on the western edge of Sydney’s sprawl, towards the relatively untapped hinterland of the NSW Mid-North Coast. We broke the stints up as much as possible, depending on how strongly the kids started railing against automotive imprisonment.

And once we finally got to camp, I let the kids roam free and explore as much as possible.

Instead of hovering and quick-firing “be careful” and “don’t do that” from the hip, I tried to let the kids have their own space.

You could call it free-range parenting, but there were still plenty of moments when I realised: “I haven’t seen the kids for some time. Are they OK?”

But instead of finding and chastising the kids against my own fears, I checked in from a distance, called out to check everything was OK, and left them to themselves.

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It allows you to relax more as a parent, and the kids (mine, at least) respond positively to the increased autonomy and control they have over themselves.

The kids would disappear out of sight for a while and come back with a new discovery or empty stomach.

After a sandwich and chat they were off again, on the hunt for skipping stones, collecting firewood on walking tracks, and inventing their own hare-brained games.

When given the opportunity to disconnect and unwind, kids take to it naturally and beautifully.

Nobody is going to argue with the idea green time is better than screen time, and the idea is backed up by plenty of research.

One study from Canada says when you let kids explore without a helicopter parent, it helps to grow their own minds, confidence and risk assessment. If a parent is constantly there telling them yes or no, then they never get to flex these cognitive muscles.

Exploring the bush reverses cognitive fatigue caused by too much screen time, and one study from Finland indicated exposure to nature can even improve gut health and immunity.

Other studies have found links between exposure to the natural world and lower levels of depression and anxiety, as well as better development of the prefrontal cortex.

“Unstructured play” – the most common activity in the bush – boosts social skills, imagination and physical exercise.

And every night, they crawled into the sleeping bags exhausted and fulfilled.

I saw this in the real world. As I was slowly unwinding and relaxing without exposure to screens, so were my kids, right in front of my eyes.