Instead of buying your child a boring old iPad for Christmas, get them a stick

As the tablet, smartphone and gadget sales are expected to rise sharply this year at Christmas, many British families will soon be characteristic of the latest technology.

But parents are now asked to consider alternative tech alternatives - rooted in the backyard, give the children sticks and stones instead of the latest smartphone and replace "screen time" with "wild time" .

Wild Network (www.projectwildthing.com) wants to drag young people out of the sofa and be interested in natural games and outdoor games.

Therefore, the network created "Alternative Christmas List for Children". This shows that the stick is a wonderful gift. "It's easy to pick up and it can be used for thousands of applications, so you can throw away as easily as you can find it, it helps to imagine the game and it is very suitable for playing in the building of Winnie the Great I will. "

Do you think that packaging is a bit difficult? Then a smooth stone can "cut or carve" or "a pair of Wellington boots to jump in a puddle, trek through the stream and walk in a muddy alley"

A spokeswoman for the National Trust says: "Technology can play a role in the lives of all of us, but the same is true of the time spent in nature and outdoor activities."

Wild network was established in September this year and includes members of National Trust, Play England, Boy Scouts, National Urban Farm and Community Garden Alliance, Play England, RSPB, NHS Trust, School, Game Group, Local Government, Outdoor Center I will. They all signed up to encourage the children to spend outside.

According to a new survey, the children are watching the electronic screen for an average of 5 hours a day.

The important thing is to prevent people 4, 5, or 8 from getting absorbed in the screen. This is not Minecraft, Lego, books rather than iPad, not television means nature and sports. If necessary, ask the child's school not to give the tablet or Chromebook until the age of 10 or older (recommended by others 12). Discuss the reasons for restricting screen access with your child. Just like Steve Jobs ate with girls without gymnastic dinner, eat with children without using electronic equipment. Do not become a victim of "Distributed parent syndrome" - As we know from social learning theory, "monkeys see, monkeys do".

Even though they are older they should delay to buy their own gadgets whenever possible; 8-year-olds may want the latest iPads and smartphones, but they It does not need. Focusing on the shared family technology makes it easier to rob it and watches what kids are online. It is important to show a decent example. Given that many of us insist on using our gadgets everyday, we will either grab our phone each time we hear the message or score football under the table at Sunday's lunch Check. Some adults are guilty - our children learn to do this at once, that is not surprising

Rather than treat it as a strict rule, consider the iPad as a unit of time. If the child is willing to play the iPad at the table, please use it as a unit of the iPad. Perhaps they will use the second iPad after taking a shower and before going to bed. On the other hand, the time between home and dinner can be used for the time of play, and the time between dinner and shower can be on the homework time. Or vice versa. We have not investigated how useful iPad is for early childhood learning, but it is clear that children aged 2 and over far exceed the age of two from the tablet. This is not so surprising. A 2 year old child is better in many respects than a young child. However, it is important to remember that it is this age for children to actually understand the language. Interaction with parents and siblings is an important part of this learning process.