Wanda Kanten Hartfield
UNPLUG! 101 Ways to Pull Your Kids Away from Their Electronics
- Parenting
- Activities
- Learning styles
Real activities for 4–12s. Most take twenty minutes and nothing you don't already own — and none of them need you to feel bad first.
no screens were harmed in the making of this list
What's in it
154 pages, parenting on purpose. Four things every one of the 101 has in common.
Twenty minutes, nothing to buy
Most of the 101 fit in the time between getting home and getting dinner on, using what's already in the house.
The rule that makes it last
Anyone can suggest a blanket fort. The useful part is the one rule that keeps it going past the first five minutes.
What to do when it stops working
Every activity has a variation for the second time, and for the child who has decided they're too old for it.
Never a verdict on the parent
No screen-time statistics, no diagnosis, no guilt. You came for something to do; that's what the book hands you.
Try it free
Five things from the book, playable here. No email, no account — if you never buy it you still get these.
Sample activities.The activities shown in these features are stand-ins so you can see how they work — they aren't from the book, and the numbers aren't its numbering. Send the real list and we'll load it in.
The 101
Filter down to what actually fits tonight. The site shows a taste — the book has all of them, with instructions and variations.
Showing 7 of 59 · 1 filter on ·
Filters
Kitchen-table volcano
Sock-ball tournament
Paper plane distance league
Torchlight shadow puppets
Sock puppet news bulletin
Two-pan kitchen band
All 101 are in the book.
Each one with the setup, the rule that makes it last, and what to do when it stops working.
Swap an hour, see what fits
Not a lecture — just arithmetic. Move the slider to however long a normal day runs.
Swap one, swap none — the book works either way.
06+
6 adventures unlocked
- Blanket fort
- Shadow-tracing
- Sock-ball
- Bug hotel
- Paper planes
- Chalk trail
Sticker chart
Ten activities, ten stickers. Do them in any order.
0 / 10 stickers · First badge at 3
Badges unlock at 3, 6 and 10.
Nothing yet — that's the fun part.
Peek inside
Six real spreads. Swipe through, no email needed.
Spread 1 of 6: Rainy-day chapter
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Photos or scans of a few real pages
Even a phone photo of an open spread works. These are the book itself, so they're the one thing here we can't mock up — and they sell it better than any description.
A list tells you to build a blanket fort. This tells you the one rule that keeps it going past the first five minutes, and what to do when it stops working. That second part is the book.
Read a bit
A page or two of the real thing does more than any description.
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A sample spread or two of real text
Readers who get this far are close to buying. Even one page of the real thing does more than any description.
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The real back-cover blurb
The description on this page is our draft — replace it with your own words.
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Ebook or audiobook editions?
Only the paperback is listed. If there's a Kindle or audio edition we'll add it with its own buy link.
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Other retailers
Amazon is linked. Add Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, or a direct link if you have them.
Who wrote it
Wanda Kanten Hartfield
Wanda Kanten Hartfield was raised in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada, where she and her sisters spent long winter days creating their own entertainment. She went on to become “Miss Wanda,” host of Romper Room, delighting millions of children in the Magic Mirror — then tested her ideas for real as the mother of two sons.
UNPLUG! is where those ideas landed: 101 things to do instead, with no statistics, no guilt, and no suggestion you've already failed — just the next thing to try.
Ten to start with
A one-page checklist of ten activities from the book — the easiest ones to say yes to. Print it, stick it on the fridge, work down it.
Or just grab it without an email — genuinely fine.
