Phone-Free Childhood UK | Practical Steps for Parents | Jaqu

A wet Tuesday afternoon, and the tablet is charging on the kitchen worktop, out of reach. On the floor, a game of draughts is half-finished. Nobody planned it; it simply happened once the screen stopped being the easiest option in the room.

That small shift is what most parents are after. Not a battle, not a ban with a capital B, but a house where children reach for something to make or play with before they reach for a glowing rectangle. It is a habit built from what sits within arm's length.

We have made games and toys since 1795, and we take the making seriously. The wood in our sets is FSC-certified timber, and everything we produce for children is tested to UKCA and CE standards. Sound toys tend to be handled, shared and passed on, which is rather the point.

What Is Screen Free Play and Why Are Experts Talking About It?

Screen free play is exactly what it sounds like: any play that happens without a phone, tablet or television. Building, drawing, board games, garden games, imaginative games with figures and blocks — all of it counts. The term has gained ground because more parents are asking a straightforward question about how much screen time is sensible for young children.

The guidance is clearer than it once was. The UK's Chief Medical Officers, in their 2019 commentary on screen time, advise that children under two should avoid screens altogether, except for video-calling relatives. The World Health Organization's 2019 guidelines go a similar way, recommending no screen time at all for children under one, and no more than an hour a day for those aged three and four.

None of this treats a screen as poison. It simply recognises that the early years are a narrow window, and that time spent one way is time not spent another. Every hour with a screen is an hour not spent stacking, sorting, negotiating rules or losing gracefully.

Experts are talking about it because the alternative is well understood. We have written more on the science of screen free play and what happens in the brain, and it is a subject with two centuries of quiet evidence behind it. Our own history with 230 years of screen free play began long before the debate did.

Why Screen Free Play Matters for Your Child's Development

Play is not a break from learning. It is the way young children learn. The American Academy of Pediatrics set this out plainly in its 2018 clinical report, 'The Power of Play,' which concluded that play reduces stress, builds executive function, and strengthens the bond between parent and child.

Executive function is the quiet engine behind a great deal: planning, focus, self-control, the ability to hold an idea in mind while working towards it. A child taking turns in a game of ludo is practising all of these without being told to. The rules do the teaching.

Unstructured play matters just as much as the structured sort. When a child decides what a set of wooden blocks becomes — a castle, a shop, a bridge — they are making choices, testing ideas, and living with the results. A screen tends to make those choices for them.

There is a physical side too. England's Early Years Foundation Stage framework, statutory since 2008, was among the first national guidance to recommend structured outdoor play for children aged three to five. Movement, balance and coordination are learned outdoors, not scrolled through.

And then there is the social ground that play covers: sharing, losing, waiting, encouraging. A board game around a table is a small society with its own manners. You can browse our board games and our traditional games to see how much of childhood happens in the space between two players. For a fuller account of the developmental benefits, our guide on putting down the tablet gathers the threads together.

How to Build Screen Free Play Into Your Family's Daily Routine

Routine does more than willpower ever will. If the screen is the default, it wins. The trick is to make something else the default instead, and to make it easy to reach.

Start with the transitions, the moments when a screen usually creeps in. The half-hour before dinner, the stretch after school, the long Sunday morning. Fill those gaps with a jigsaw left out on a low table, or a card game already dealt. What is visible tends to get played.

Keep a small rotation rather than everything at once. A shelf with three or four sets, swapped weekly, feels fresher than a cupboard crammed to the door. Children return to old favourites with new interest when they have had a rest from them.

Build in anchors that repeat. A family game after supper, a garden hour before tea, a rainy-day box that only appears when it rains. Predictable rhythms save you from negotiating the same point every day. Our practical guide on setting up a screen free summer play routine works through this in detail.

Do not overlook outdoors, whatever the season. A skipping rope, a set of skittles or a game of quoits turns a garden into somewhere to be rather than something to look at. There are plenty of ideas among the best outdoor toys for screen free garden play.

Finally, join in when you can. A child playing alone is good; a parent playing too is where the 2018 research on parent-child bonds comes into its own. Ten minutes counts.

The Best Toys and Games to Support Screen Free Play at Home

The best toys for screen free play tend to be open-ended. They do not do one thing; they do whatever the child decides. Blocks become a hundred things, a marble run becomes an engineering problem, and a set of figures becomes a whole afternoon's story.

Wooden toys earn their place here for a simple reason: they last, and they invite handling. You can see the range across our wooden toys, from building sets to pull-along pieces for the very young. Because they are made from FSC timber and tested to UKCA and CE standards, they stand up to years of use and get handed down.

For older children, games with rules are the workhorses of screen free play. Draughts, chess, dominoes, backgammon and ludo all reward attention and reward returning. You will find these among our traditional games, most of which we have been making in some form for well over a century.

A good jigsaw is worth keeping in every home. It suits solitary quiet and shared effort equally, and it teaches patience without ever mentioning the word.

Match the toy to the age, not the calendar. A two-year-old needs to stack and post and sort; a seven-year-old wants to strategise and win. Our children toys span both ends, so a household with siblings can keep everyone occupied at once.

Buy fewer, better things. A crowded toy box is oddly less inviting than a small, well-chosen shelf. Quality that survives the rough treatment of real childhood is what keeps a toy in use rather than in landfill.

Common Challenges Parents Face and How to Work Through Them

The most common challenge is the first quiet hour. When a screen goes away, boredom rushes in to fill the gap, and boredom is loud. Hold your nerve. Boredom is not a problem to be solved; it is the raw material of imagination, and it usually resolves itself within twenty minutes if nothing rescues it.

Resistance is normal, and it is worth expecting. A child who has grown used to a tablet will protest when it disappears. Reducing gradually, and replacing rather than simply removing, tends to work better than a sudden cut. Put the game on the table before you mention the screen going off.

Siblings of different ages can stall a household. The answer is usually a game that scales — teams, handicaps, or a younger child given a simpler role in the same activity. Many of our board games bend to this without much effort.

Then there is your own screen, which children read more accurately than any rule you set. If the aim is a phone-free hour, the parent's phone belongs in a drawer too. Modelling beats instructing every time.

Weather, tiredness and busy weeks will all conspire against the best routine. That is fine. Consistency over a month matters more than a perfect day, and a lapse is not a failure. Pick it up again the next morning.

If you want reassurance that the effort is worthwhile, the evidence keeps pointing the same way, and we have set much of it out in our screen free play guide. The goal is not zero screens forever. It is a childhood where play comes first.

Frequently Asked Questions About Screen Free Play

What is screen free play?

Screen free play is any form of play that does not involve televisions, tablets, smartphones, or other digital devices. It encompasses activities such as building blocks, board games, drawing, reading physical books, outdoor exploration, and imaginative role-play. Unlike passive screen consumption, screen free play actively engages a child's imagination, problem-solving skills, and physical abilities. At Jaques of London, we believe screen free play forms the foundation of a well-rounded childhood, encouraging children to interact with the physical world and with one another in meaningful, hands-on ways.

What are the benefits of screen free play for children?

Screen free play supports children's cognitive, physical, and social development in well-documented ways. The American Academy of Pediatrics published a clinical report in 2018, 'The Power of Play,' concluding that play reduces stress, builds executive function, and strengthens parent-child bonds. Away from screens, children practise communication, creativity, and emotional regulation through real-world interaction. Physical play develops motor skills and coordination, while imaginative play nurtures language and empathy. These benefits compound over time, giving children a stronger foundation for learning and relationships throughout their lives.

How much screen free play do children need each day?

The World Health Organization's 2019 guidelines recommend no sedentary screen time at all for children under one year, and no more than one hour of sedentary screen time per day for children aged three to four. This implies that the substantial majority of a young child's waking hours should be screen free. For older primary-age children, while specific WHO limits are not defined, maximising active, screen free time each day remains strongly advisable. Filling those hours with physical play, creative activities, and outdoor exploration supports healthy development across all age groups.

What age is screen free play suitable for?

Screen free play is suitable from birth onwards. Babies benefit from sensory play with simple objects, textures, and face-to-face interaction. The UK Chief Medical Officers advise avoiding screen time altogether for children under two, except for video-calling, making screen free play the default for very young children. Toddlers and foundation-stage children thrive with open-ended, imaginative play. Primary school children benefit from board games, outdoor activities, and creative construction. Screen free play scales naturally with a child's development, remaining relevant and rewarding at every age and stage of childhood.

How do I encourage screen free play when my child always asks for a tablet?

Consistency and preparation make the biggest difference. Establish clear, predictable screen free periods — for example, after school and before bed — so children know what to expect. Have engaging alternatives ready: a board game on the table, art supplies laid out, or a suggestion for outdoor play. Joining in yourself for a short time helps children transition and builds enthusiasm. Avoid framing screen free time as a punishment; present it positively as time for doing something active or creative together. Children are far more likely to embrace alternatives when they feel genuinely inviting rather than imposed.

What can children do instead of watching screens at home?

There is a wide range of absorbing screen free activities children can enjoy at home. Board games and card games build strategic thinking and social skills. Drawing, painting, and craft projects encourage creativity and fine motor development. Building sets, puzzles, and construction toys support problem-solving. Reading physical books fosters imagination and literacy. Cooking simple recipes together develops practical life skills. Indoor den-building, role-play, and storytelling cost nothing and engage children for extended periods. Outside, gardening, chalk drawing, or simple ball games provide physical activity. Rotating activities keeps things fresh and maintains children's interest over time.

Does screen free play help with children's sleep?

Removing screens before bedtime is widely associated with improved sleep quality in children. Screen use in the evening can delay the onset of sleep by suppressing melatonin production and keeping children mentally stimulated at a time when they need to wind down. Replacing evening screen time with calm screen free activities — such as reading, puzzles, or quiet imaginative play — helps children's minds and bodies prepare for rest. While specific sleep data falls outside the verified guidelines cited here, the World Health Organization's 2019 framework links reduced sedentary screen behaviour with healthier overall routines, including better sleep patterns in young children.

How do I set screen free time rules that the whole family sticks to?

Rules work best when the whole family agrees on them together. Discuss the reasons openly with children old enough to understand, and invite their input on when screen free periods should apply — mealtimes, mornings, and the hour before bed are natural starting points. Write agreed rules somewhere visible. Adults modelling the behaviour matters enormously; if parents put their own phones away during screen free periods, children follow far more readily. Keep rules simple, specific, and consistent rather than vague. Reviewing and adjusting them as children grow helps maintain buy-in over the long term.

What are the best screen free toys for primary school age children in the UK?

Primary school children in the UK respond well to toys that grow with their abilities and invite extended, imaginative engagement. Classic board games — including chess, draughts, and word games — develop strategic and language skills. Construction sets such as building bricks challenge spatial reasoning. Outdoor equipment including skipping ropes, quoits, and croquet sets encourage physical activity. Art and craft kits support self-expression. Card games are portable and sociable. Jaques of London has been crafting quality games and outdoor toys since 1795, offering a broad range of screen free options that suit children across the primary years and beyond.

Why does unstructured play without screens matter for child development?

Unstructured, screen free play gives children the freedom to direct their own activity, which is central to developing imagination, independence, and resilience. The American Academy of Pediatrics' 2018 report 'The Power of Play' found that play builds executive function — the set of skills underpinning planning, focus, and self-regulation — alongside reducing stress and strengthening family bonds. England's Early Years Foundation Stage framework, which became statutory in 2008, embedded structured outdoor and free play into foundation-stage education precisely because the developmental evidence is robust. Screens, by contrast, direct a child's attention externally, limiting the self-led exploration that drives genuine cognitive and social growth.