IT'S well into the summer holidays and your patience is wearing a little thin.

You always swore you'd never be the parent who plonked your child in front of the TV - but let's face it, the obligatory trips to Alton Towers and Weston-Super-Mud have all been exhausted.

It's just so easy to wave that magic remote control wand and turn a demanding, noisy midget-from-hell into a thumb-sucking bundle of loveliness. I have a three-year-old brother with a precious Thomas the Tank Engine video, I should know.

But in addition to the familiar warning about "square eyes" and lack of stimulation, the price to a child's mental and physical well-being goes a lot deeper.

According to a recent survey by the Independent Television Commission, too much TV causes sleep disorders, anxiety, depression and violent behaviour in youngsters.

And, combined with the astonishing fact that one in three toddlers under the age of four has a television set in their bedroom, with one in seven owning a video recorder, it can only mean trouble.

This is tip of the iceberg, however, with videos, computer games, the internet and mobile phones posing health risks, and leaving less time for activities like swimming, cycling or playing with friends.

I hate to sound like a smug twenty-something, but an hourly fix of Home and Away and Neighbours was more than enough to satisfy "our gang" in the evenings, before pedalling off to misbehave in the park.

Watching television late into the night can also cause exhaustion, leaving young minds unable to cope with the next day's activities.

And although it's a thrill to sit huddled in front of a horror movie, a child's development can be affected if no one is around to explain or give reassurance about information they do not understand.

Relationship counsellor Corinne Sweet said visual imagery used in films and TV is designed to have a great emotional impact.

"Children can be traumatised, but keep watching because they don't realise what is happening. In extreme cases they then act out what they have seen," she said.

Experts also believe that children, disturbed by television, can develop post-traumatic stress syndrome. They feel numb, emotionally closed or weepy, lose their temper or retreat into their shell, with sleep patterns disturbed by nightmares triggered by fear, anxiety or confusion.

"Children go through developmental stages from three to six years old."

"Their imaginations are vast and live in fantasy worlds featuring witches, evil stepmothers, and where there is a possibility of a monster coming for them. If they watch something which reinforces that, it can make them insecure about the world."

Surfing the internet is also extremely popular, and with very little regulation of the net, children can develop a warped sense of human relationships.

Chat rooms use anonymous code names instead of real ones, and paedophiles are known to prey on vulnerable children, pretending to be a friend of the same age.

"On the net you have no idea who you are talking to, how they are receiving what you are saying or what they are thinking," said Ms Sweet.

"E-mailing and texting heavily can also cause problems because you can be very intimate with someone you do not know, but if you meet that person, you have to build a relationship."

Studies have shown that 55 per cent of our communication is non-verbal and involves looking at faces, using body language, eye contact, and tone of voice.

Sitting in front of a computer for too long also numbs the brain, is bad for the eyes and can cause repetitive strain injury, not to mention how unhealthy it is for children to be sat still without exercising their heart and lungs.

Parents looking for inspiration can log on to Barefoot Books' new website which is full of ideas for busy parents who want a richer relationship with their children.

At www.barefootbooks.com, you will find free resources based on four themes - The Family Hearth, The Storytellers' Caravan, The Teachers' Tent and The Artists' Caf.

And with Worcester's Summer in the City scheme, there are hordes of activities out there for children to enjoy.

"Sitting in front of the TV means a lack of interaction," said Amanda Smith, events organiser for Worcester City Council.

"But if they are taking part in activities, whether creative or sporty, they are active and socialising with their peers.

"Parents can spend quality time with their children, and sign up for activities just for days or certain weeks of the holidays.

"We are more up-to-date with what children want now, and understand it is not the same as 10 years ago.

"Children want to pick and choose what they do without set regimes."

For daily-updated details on the Summer in the City events, log on to www.thisisworcester.co.uk/leisure/whatson.html