The battle to get kids active can be a tough one. With technology infiltrating their day to day lives, parents can often find themselves struggling to encourage children to put away the screens and keep fit.

Here’s how you can promote a healthy lifestyle to your child:

Sign up to sports

The useful teambuilding skills and regular exercise make sports the perfect way to encourage good health. Allowing your child to choose a sport they enjoy, ensuring its convenient to your time constraints and within your financial capabilities will garner the best results. Not only does this have the benefit of cultivating a hobby which they can carry on later in life, it also provides the ability for them to branch out their friendship groups and explore their own personality whilst keeping ft and healthy.

Encourage healthy food

Whilst exercise is important, diet is also key in keeping your child fit and healthy. Hitting the target of 5 pieces of fruit and veg and keeping sugar intake below 6 teaspoons per day is suggested, though this can be a battle for some parents. To encourage children to eat healthily you can:

• Involve them during the food shop and cooking
• Blend fruit and vegetables into smoothies
• Allow a choice between healthy snacks

Use gadgets that promote a healthy lifestyle

Since today’s children are surrounded by technology, it makes sense to utilize it for their benefit. Smartwatches such as WATCHU are a useful tool, with a built-in pedometer to promote self-monitoring of activity and GPS tracking, you can be confident in letting your child be active anywhere, whilst remaining safe in the knowledge of their whereabouts at all times.

To learn more about the WATCHU visit our product page.

The tradition of giving gifts over the Christmas period has been around for thousands of years and over this time the concept of what makes a great gift has evolved for all of us but especially for children.

Even though some of the nuances and traditions differ around the world, ultimately the core of the gift giving celebrations remains the same. Whilst some of the earliest traditional presents included items like foods, figurines and herbs and spices, today the idea of the Christmas gift has grown in to so much more and for millions of children throughout the world the obsession with presents seems to grow stronger every year.

The top ten list of the most popular Christmas presents of all time includes classics like ‘Lego’, the original ‘Barbie Doll’ and Toy Story character ‘Buzz Lightyear’. These remain some of the most successful toys of all time alongside outdoor toys like sports games and bikes. However today more and more children are interested in the latest developments in tech and gadgets than classic toys and the great outdoors.

The shift in children’s desires for the latest gadget or up to date mobile phone or tablet is in line with the rest of the world today. Last year research by Ofcom found the below statistics:

These stats show how far ‘toys’ have come and how children younger and younger are more interested in these modern machines than in the old traditional toys. For some parents this changing trend doesn’t come without concerns, usually around the safety of their children and the content they are able to access on phones, tablets and consoles.

With our Watchu, children can enjoy the freedom of being able to make phone calls and have one of the latest pieces of wearable tech but remain safe at all times. Phone calls can only be made to pre-set numbers and the SOS button can be used at any time if they are in danger.

The Watchu allows children to lead active lives and can give them the feeling of independence they often crave at a young age, whilst their parents are able to know their exact location at all times via GPS tracking and even receive alerts if they leave a pre-set geo-zone.

With the comforts of knowing the location of your child and being able to have instant two-way contact, the Watchu provides a piece of safe and wearable technology that could encourage your child to play get back to playing outdoors and enjoying some good ‘old fashioned’ toys.

For more information on our range of Watchu’s take a look at our product page.

For many parents, the idea of giving their child their first mobile phone can be a daunting prospect. Knowing the right time to buy a phone is a question adults throughout the UK are constantly debating.

Research in recent years has shown a rise in phone usage amongst young children and regular usage of mobile phones for 8-11 year olds has risen from 28% – 38% since 2014. Further research in 2016 showed that the average age for children to have a phone is around 10 years old in the UK and in 2017 20% of 5-7 year olds were also regularly using a mobile.

This trend has continued in 2018, with some of the most recent research showing that a quarter of children under the age six have a smartphone, but most parents still insist the ideal age for a child to have their first phone is between 10-11 years old.

The general consensus remains that most parents want to be able to keep in touch with their children and know that they are safe but also have concerns about the content their children could become exposed to and not being aware of everything they are using their phones for.

The Risks of a Phone

• Children can become exposed to online content they wouldn’t normally be allowed to see.
• The phone can distract them and disrupt their routine, taking their attention away from other important parts of their life such as school, friendships and activities.
• There’s potential for children to unintentionally accumulate large financial bills by purchasing additional content or going over their monthly allowance.

The Benefits of a Phone

• Being able to contact your child when they are out is one of the main reasons parents give their child a phone
• Children are able to contact you or anyone else in case of an emergency
• Having something as important as a phone can help to teach a child responsibility from a young age as they have to look after it and learn when and how to use it appropriately

The Solution?

By purchasing a Watchu for your child you could be alleviating yourself from many of the fears that come with a mobile phone, whilst still enjoying all of the benefits.

Some of the great features of the Watchu include:

• Two way calling system so parents and children can be connected at the touch of a button
• GPS tracking allows the parent to monitor where their child is and has been at all times
• SOS button that sends out an instant signal in case of emergency to a list of pre-programmed numbers

Visit our shop page to find out more information and help choose the right Watchu for you.