How to Entertain, Distract, and Unplug Your Kids: Tricks, Tools, and Spontaneous Screen-Free Activities

A fun and practical guide to keeping kids engaged and off your phone.

Face it. Your kids don’t want you around ALL the time! As much as you’d like to build that go-cart or that amazing tree house for them, you also need a little time for yourself!

Sure, we’d all like to hand our kids the phone when things get tough, but down deep we know that screen time will not build world leaders. So how does a parent like you keep those little rug rats entertained and engaged in a meaningful way while you get your own stuff done?

Well, this book is a good start! With these simple tricks, you will turn their boredom into fun, teachable, and productive (sometimes) moments in this irreverent yet practical guide.

From photo bombing magazines in the dentist’s office to sock matching speed trials to making bread, this book provides spontaneous activities that kids can do with or without you, leaving time for you to do parent stuff like making dinner, reading the paper, or enjoying a glass of wine.

Matthew Jervis is an educator, designer, author, and single dad raising two kids in the San Francisco Bay Area. Matthew develops programs and creative workshops for kids and adults while teaching graduate- and undergraduate-level courses in creative strategy and process at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. He lives in Berkeley, California.