“The only time he sits still is when he’s watching Youtube,” I had a parent lament to me the other day. “And even though I’ve tried to limit his access, he always finds a way to get around my restrictions.” 

As a teacher working with pupils aged 7-13, I hear this sort of thing all the time. Through the pandemic, children’s access to digital technology expanded rapidly, with schools and many other childcare services adapting their provision for online. Young children have become more au fait with computers, tablets, apps and the internet than an entire generation of parents. On the one hand, this is an important part of education in the 21^st century. On the other, parents are finding their children glued to screens, struggling with focus on non-digital tasks, and difficult to entertain in their free time. Parents ask me all the time, “How can I get my child off their tablet?” 

In the age of hyper stimulation, my belief is that there is only one way to compete with tech: make real life experiences even more stimulating. 

When I plan activities for my holiday camps aimed at children aged 8-14, I don’t just think “an hour of football, a spot of painting, some team games and job done!” Instead, I think about those worlds that get children’s imaginations going. “How can we recreate the Battle of Hogwarts as a real-life activity? Let’s get the Harry Potter theme tune playing as children walk in the room. Let’s decorate the walls with Hogwarts houses so children feel like they’re inside the movie. Let’s get all of the staff dressed up as Death Eaters, with long cloaks and fake names. Let’s give them physical objects they can collect as ‘power-ups’ or ‘special powers’ each time they complete a challenge. Let’s give them challenges where, inside of that immersion, they have to run, jump, use their strength, work with their friends and use their critical thinking to solve puzzles.” 

Ask a child to play a Harry Potter video game, and then try my ‘Battle of Hogwarts Immersive Experience’. There’s one they’ll find more stimulating – and for once, it’s not the one on the computer. 

Tanvi Punatar is Camp Manager of Fuze Camps, a unique holiday day camp which focuses its activities on imaginative thinking, immersive experiences and creating a sense of community. This year, Fuze Camps will be running between 31st July and 11th August in North West London. It is open to all children aged 8-14 years old at a price of £160 per week or £35 per day (with lunch included).

For more details, see our website at www.fuzecamps.com