Parents glued to their mobiles ‘are driving children to self-harm’

CHILDREN are feeling increasingly lonely and growing numbers are self- harming because their parents are ‘glued to their smartphones’, according to a shock warning from Childline.

John Cameron, who runs the helpline, says it is receiving an average of 11 calls a day from lonely youngsters, and he claims the problem is being fuelled by the overuse of modern technology.

He said: ‘Children say that when they are at home they are on a laptop or phone and their parents are on laptops or phones. Everyone’s in the same room together but glued to screens.

‘That’s quite a common experience now. Even when we are at home with our families, there is a growing sense of isolation.

‘Children are not speaking to their parents as much as in the past. It means children don’t know who to turn to when they have problems. This escalating sense of isolation leads some children to express themselves in other ways, such as self-harming, to try to make themselves heard.

‘I think society needs to be more aware of the danger of us no longer speaking face to face. Too often we are glued to our phones and not speaking to children about the pressures they are under.’

Mr Cameron’s remarks were backed by Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield, a Government- appointed official who promotes the rights, views and interests of children.

She said: ‘I am increasingly concerned that families do not talk about how much we are all glued to our screens. Parents need to keep a handle on this and really take the time to speak to their children, ask their kids on a regular basis about how things are, and spend quality family time together.’

Childline revealed it had conducted 4,063 telephone counselling sessions with children and teenagers suffering from loneliness last year. Of these, 73 per cent were with girls, and the youngest caller was aged six.

It was the first time the charity, run by the NSPCC, had recorded loneliness statistics among callers since the helpline for children was founded in 1986 by broadcaster Esther Rantzen.

A s pokesman s ai d t hi s was because the charity recognised loneliness as a growing trend, adding: ‘Childline counsellors are consistently hearing from children and teenagers that they feel like they are invisible, misunderstood and those closest to them are struggling to understand their feelings.’

A recent study of 2,000 youngsters aged 11 to 18 found that more than a third had asked their parents to stop checking their smartphones and other devices. Of the pupils who had asked their parents to put down their phones, 46 per cent said they took no notice.

One in seven children said their parents were regularly online at meal times.

And an alarming survey last week revealed that 83 per cent of headteachers believe there is a rising number of four- year- olds arriving for their first day at school unable to speak properly.

Almost eight in ten British adults own a smartphone that can access the internet; 60 per cent own a laptop computer and there is a tablet device in more than half of homes, according to Ofcom.