'Toy Story 5' wasn't kidding: Screens are taking over childhood playtime

When children get bored, screens are increasingly beating out make-believe.

A new survey commissioned by toy manufacturer Playmobil found that children ages 4 to 9 were more than twice as likely to reach for a screen when bored as they were to invent a game, story, or imaginary world.

'27% said their child will spend between three and four hours of the day on a screen.'

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Twenty-eight percent of children surveyed said they would use or ask for a screen when boredom struck. Just 12% said they would make up a game, story, or pretend world.

The nationwide U.K. survey questioned 2,000 parents and 2,000 children. Parents seem well aware of the problem — and many aren't particularly happy about their own role in it. Fifty-four percent admitted feeling guilty about relying on screens to keep their children occupied.

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Buzz kill

During school holidays, while parents are working, 27% said their children spend between three and four hours a day on screens.

According to 86% of parents surveyed, at least one toy or activity their child once enjoyed has been partly replaced by screens.

It's practically the plot of this summer's "Toy Story 5," in which Woody, Buzz, and the gang find themselves competing for Bonnie's attention with a tablet.

Parents may wish their children were more eager to exercise their imaginations, but plenty of kids would like a little help from Mom and Dad.

Seventy-four percent of parents said they wished their children spent more time playing imaginatively. Meanwhile, 38% of children said they wished their parents would play with them more often.

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Room and bored

Parents offered some excuses of their own. Twenty-one percent said they sometimes run out of ideas for imaginative play, while 28% said the pressures of everyday life leave little time to join in.

Research psychologist Dr. Amanda Gummer cautioned against concluding that children have simply lost their imaginations. The findings, she said, suggest that screens have become the "quickest and most familiar option" when boredom strikes. Her advice to parents was relatively simple: Give children a prompt, idea, or challenge and let them take it from there.

There may be some urgency. The survey found that children believed they became too old for pretend play at an average age of 9.76.

Of course, children aren't the only ones staring at screens.

A separate finding released from the Playmobil research this month showed that 28% of children wished their parents would put their phones away more often, while 38% wanted Mom and Dad to play with them more.

Maybe the kids still have imaginations after all. They just need somebody to play with.

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