Saying No to Stay Free

Modern schedules fill every gap — school, tutoring, sports, music, and screens leave almost no open time.

Choose one regular open slot first: maybe Sunday morning, the ride to practice, or the half hour after school. Then defend that freed slot. Block it in your calendar the way you protect sleep, and during the window keep it screen-free with no parent-directed activity — let boredom do the teaching. Treating it as a real commitment is what keeps it from quietly disappearing under the next thing that comes up.