No Phone Zone at Chessington World of Adventures

My toddler kept picking up my phone, dumped on a sofa or left on the floor, and handing it to me quizzically as if I'd left my arm lying around and really needed it back. It made me realise how near-surgically-attached I must seem to be with my iPhone.. And it made me feel guilty.

So when Chessington World of Adventures got in touch with research saying almost two thirds of kids reckon their parents pay more attention to their phones than them, and did I want to visit their theme park if I vowed to give up my phone for the day - the answer was definitely yes.

Entering via Chessington's No Phone Zone entrance, we checked in our mobiles at the gate and were handed a disposable camera (remember them? And the exciting week-long wait to pick up holiday snaps and see how they came out?!) to take photos of our day.

And what a day - Chessington is great for tots - especially as it has a new Gruffalo ride which tiny man is still talking about, three weeks later. It was worth the 40-minute queue, but luckily lots of other rides he tackled, including the mini car carousel and elephant-flying Dumbo ride (my fave), were far quicker to access. The mini zoo was brilliant too - check out these snoozing lions...

Most eye-opening, though, was realising how automatic it's become to grab our phones in so-called downtime - standing in line for a ride, say, or whilst waiting for the loo - but actually these are moments when the kids will lap up your attention.

So I won't be saying goodbye to my iPhone for good - boy was I glad to be reunited with it on exit - but given research suggests parents spend an average of 57 minutes looking at their phone each day, (and that sounds fairly low to me.. ) I'll definitely be putting it down a lot more. Thanks, Chessington for a fab day out!

 

 *We were gifted tickets to Chessington World of Adventures, but rest assured we're seriously gobby and only rave about things we love.