Don't Ban Screens. Compete With Them.
Let's be real. You cannot out-entertain an iPad. It has a team of 1,000 engineers in Silicon Valley designing it to be addictive. If you say "No screens, go stare at the wall," you lose. The screen is high stimulation; the wall is zero stimulation.
The Middle Path: Tangible Complexity
The only thing that competes with the "quick hit" of a video game is the "deep hit" of mastery.
Video games are popular because they offer Agency (you control the character) and Progression (you level up). Construction play offers the exact same things, but in 4D.
- Minecraft is great.
- Real Life Minecraft (building a fort you can actually sit inside) is better.
Don't frame Karton as "The thing you have to do because Mom took the iPad away." Frame it as "The cheat code to building a base the zombies can't get into." Use the screen to research castle designs, then shut it off to build the prototype.
Make the screen a tool, not the master.