‘SHELTER KIDS FROM THE MOB’
less chance to experience what I call real play.
‘A recent survey by online retailer Ao.com revealed children spending on average 17 hours a week in front of a screen, almost double the time spent playing outside.
‘This is deeply concerning. Children need to experience the real, live world to understand it – not see it on a screen.
‘We know from research that real play develops initiative, problemsolving skills and many other positive traits, such as a can-do attitude, perseverance and emotional resilience. It’s vital for social skills, too.
‘By playing together, youngsters learn to get along with other people. They discover how others’ minds work, developing empathy.
‘The first seven years of a child’s life are particularly vital to their learning and development. For example, by this age they must master physical co-ordination of large and small movements, such as focusing their eyes in different positions.
‘The rate of myopia, or short- sightedness, among young people in the UK has doubled in the past 50 years, and this has been linked to too much screen time. I believe this is a tragedy we must address urgently.’ WRITER and broadcaster Katie Hopkins lives in London with her husband Mark Cross, 51, a ‘My little gang is right in that tricky bit between still having to do roughly what they are told and believing they are ready to take on the world.
‘They are the only kids in their classes who don’t have a phone or an iPad. That’s a tough gig for children who just want to fit in.
‘Other parents have clearly caved in to pressure from someone half their height. They say, “They have a phone for emergencies, to keep them safe.”
‘I don’t believe a daily fix of Snapchat really classifies as an emergency. My kids used to moan that they were hard done by. But seeing the amount of tension and drama that phones and tech bring to school, they understand another side.
‘As a mother, I see my role as a protector, sheltering them for a while, giving them freedom from incessant updates, freedom from the mentality of the mob, freedom to find out who they are before someone else tries to decide it for them. It’s the same reason I leave my phone in the apartment when we are on holiday. I love my job, but I leave all my life online to give my family freedom from interruptions. We take time to look up, not down, and to escape the clamour of strangers for the quiet of the people we know best.’