North East parents say they struggle to break their kids technology addiction
Health organisations in the Tees Valley are worried about the impact it could have on the health of our region's youngsters.
Parents across the North East say they struggle to keep their kids fit because they are too addicted to technology.
Research by Action for Children found a third of parents from our region found it hard to get their kids to 'unplug' from their devices.
31 percent said they struggle to get children to take part in activities away from television, phone and computer screens.
The survey found it was more of a worry to parents than encouraging them to eat the right food or getting them out of bed on a morning.
This parent said: "My son is always on his Playstation 4 and they spend hours and hours on it.
"It was only really when he was at school and the other kids had them, he then felt like had to get one.
"It's second nature to them now."
A course in Darlington will launch on Monday in a bid to help overweight children down to a healthy weight.
It's called MEND and is run by Health Darlington.
Development Manager Emma Reah says it's about getting kids involved in activities they find fun.
"Nobody is naive enough to think that they would just not have them at all.
"It is absolutely about finding a balance that works for your family.
"I know some families will say 'well as long as you do your physical activity then you can have that.'
"They almost earn their time on the devices."
The MEND course would run twice a week at the Dolphin Centre on Mondays and Thursdays from 4:30pm until 6:30pm.
You can call 01325 406411 to book a place.