This past Christmas we purchased a new game ... The Hygge Game. "Hygge" (according to Miriam-Webster) is a Danish word meaning "comfort and coziness" but its etymology comes from Scandinavian, old English, Saxon and Frisian terms that incorporate thinking, considering, recalling, and understanding. Hygge is a rich word aptly described in the game's sub-title, "Cozy conversation in pleasant company."
It is a game of conversation starting questions ... that is all. No pieces to move, no roles to play, no empires to build, no opponents to conquer. It is quite simple but really needed today. We all need more hygge time in our lives.
The concept of hygge is similar to "hearth time," a term I have used in talking with parents about healthy interactions with their teenagers. Hearth time, as the name suggests, comes from a pre-technological era (think Little House on the Prairie) where the family would sit around the fireplace after dinner talking about their day. While modern "hearth time" happens in different locations (our was around our kitchen island), it is important to have cozy conversations with your teenager. Of course this involves putting your phones away ... and that, I know, can be most of the battle.
As we spend increasingly more time on screens, we spend less time interacting with each other in cozy conversations. It is easy to pick on teenagers in criticizing screen time ... and they lead the way with 11-18 year olds spending about half of their waking hours on screens (CDC) ... but, globally, humans spend about six hours a day on screens (Screen Time Stats 2024). The long-term effects of screen time are still to be determined, but we have seen excessive screen time linked to cognitive, social-emotional, and language delays in children (Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Child Development, 2023) and mental health problems (especially "depression, anxiety, social anxiety, and somatic complaints") in teens (Excessive Screen Media Activity and Mental Health Problems in Youth, 2023).
Tying this back to education ... students are spending too much time on screens. However, "phones away" or classrooms that are "no phone zones" is not the answer (or not the whole answer); rather, we need to provide a positive alternative, teaching students about hygge. "Cozy conversations in pleasant company" where people think, consider, recall, and understand is a great description of a positive learning environment. What are we doing to foster hygge at school?
Play Games!
The Hygge Game would be a good one to introduce into the classroom (not necessarily literally, but in concept). Many teachers ask an attendance question, a bell ringer, or a brain break question ... be intentional about these times to encourage conversations. Teachers often have a minute or two at the end of class, and it is so tempting to allow students to jump on a screen to fill that time. Instead of screen time, add a question to the end of the lesson that students need to discuss with a neighbor.
Board and card games, of any kind, engage our brains, encourage social interactions, and reduce screen time. Homes at "hearth time" used to be filled with games, but that has been replaced by television and phone time. I used to assume that everyone knew how to play the classic games, but children today are not playing games at home. Schools can reclaim that space, teach the classic games, and encourage the healthy brain work of strategizing and socializing.
Board gaming and card playing has become more popular in recent years; as educators, let's lean into this movement. It is my deep hope that our culture will begin to self-regulate and reduce screen time by shifting back to more meaningful activities, like reading, gaming, and cozy conversations.
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