The 5-year-olds’ iPad diaries that’ll shock every mother

As parents told to curb children’s phone use...

PARENTS should ban mobile phones from the dinner table and their children’s bedrooms, the first official guidance on social media and ‘screentime’ says today.

Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer for England, warns that doctors are increasingly worried that the time children spend online is ‘detrimental to their physical and mental health’.

In her official advice to parents and carers, she says phones should be left ‘outside the bedroom’ at night and recommends ‘screen-free meal times’ so families interact ‘face-to-face’.

As revealed by the Daily Mail last week, Dame Sally also proposes the first time limits for screentime, advising that children should have a break every two hours.

And she stresses that parents themselves need to act responsibly on the internet – and should not publish their children’s photographs on social media without their permission.

Dame Sally also takes aim at the web giants, demanding that they fulfil a ‘duty of care’ towards children and stop making social media platforms deliberately addictive to young users. The intervention will increase the pressure on ministers to act.

The guidance, drawn up with the chief medical officers for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, was commissioned last year by then Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, amid growing concerns about the impact of technology on children’s health.

When Matt Hancock succeeded him, he asked Dame Sally to fast track her findings and come up with guidance that could become a ‘norm in society’.

The scale of the problem was revealed in a report by watchdog Ofcom last week, which showed that pre- school children were spending four hours and 16 minutes a day glued to a screen.

Seven out of ten children aged 12 to 15 are allowed to take their smartphones to bed, and a fifth of children aged eight to 12 have signed up to social media. Cyberbullying, online predators, harassment and disturbing content have all been identified as dangers for children online, with experts warning of the impact on mental health – especially when combined with poor sleep and a lack of exercise.

Dame Sally said: ‘Time spent online can be of great benefit to children and young people, providing opportunities for learning and skills development, as well as allowing young people to find support and information.

‘But we need to take a precautionary approach and our advice will support children to reap these benefits and protect them from harm.’

Experts last night welcomed the guidance as simple, straightforward and achievable.

Dr Ben Carter, a scientist at King’s College London, whose research has shown that smartphones

‘A really simple message’

can play havoc with a child’s sleep, said banning phones from the bedroom is a very good idea. ‘This is a really simple message and is very understandable,’ he said.

Dame Sally’s report also calls on the tech giants to crack down on vile content on their platforms, so that they do not ‘normalise’ self-harm and bullying.

‘Technology is an unavoidable aspect of modern life and technology companies have a duty of care,’ she said last night.

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, went further and repeated calls for firms to pay a ‘social media levy’ for the harm they do. He highlighted the ‘ emerging links between some online activities and mental health pressures’.

YOU’D think five-yearolds would spend their time playing with teddies and toys, rather than technology.

But according to a recent Government report, a third of all children aged three to five have their own tablet, while separate research suggests one in three spend two hours a day online.

While it might give parents an easy life — at least until they try to take the tablet away from their little darlings at bedtime — experts fear this shift could hinder children’s development, limiting their social interactions.

So, how do parents feel about the rise of the toddler tablet, and how is it really affecting their children? To find out, we asked the mothers of three five-year-olds to keep a diary for their tiny tech addicts for a week...

TED IS ABSORBED BY EDUCATIONAL APPS

Kim Yardley, 35, works in catering. She is separated and lives in Nottinghamshire with her four children isabella, 14, George, 11, Ted, five and matilda, four. She says: TED’S dad gave him an iPad for his fifth birthday last July. He’s so proud of it that he takes it everywhere except school, where it’s not allowed — but they occasionally use school iPads in the classroom.

When he’s not watching it, he’ll still clutch it, even at the dinner table. But the rule is he stops without any fuss when I ask him to and at night it stays by his bed on charge. Although it’s a bit of a shock to see how many hours he clocks up, I’m not too concerned. All my children have screens — Isabella has a MacBook, George has an Xbox, and Matilda has an iPad.

Ted still gets lots of opportunity to play with his siblings and run around outdoors at school. And on the iPad, much of his time is spent using educational apps. He also watches YouTube and he’s allowed to play Minecraft occasionally.

I monitor what he’s doing and have a few strict rules, such as that he cannot use it in the morning until he has dressed. He also has to put it down when he’s brushing his teeth.

After school, it buys me time to cook and help the others with homework. I can’t watch him all the time, but I’ve got parental control settings on all the kids’ screens and on our internet connection.

I never offer the iPad as a reward and I take it away from him if he’s naughty or doesn’t eat his tea.

MONDAY: Two hours 15 minutes

7am-8am: Ted gets dressed, then plays educational iPad games until breakfast. He clutches it all the way to school, but leaves it with me without a fuss.

4pm-5pm: After school, he watches Minecraft tips for an hour.

6.45pm-7pm: Ted watches his iPad in bed while I bath Matilda.

TUESDAY: Two hours 30 minutes

7.15am-8.15am: Watches YouTube until breakfast.

4pm-5pm: We own horses and we all go to the stables. Ted loves to ride, but he’s often happy just to take iPad photos or use apps instead. Today it’s very cold so he decides to play on his iPad for a while in the car while we tend to the horses.

5.30pm-6.30pm: Everyone does their homework — the older children are using screens for this.

6.30pm-7pm: Another half-hour play before bedtime.

WEDNESDAY: Three hours 35 minutes

7am-8.15am: Ted is dressed and watching YouTube videos.

3.30pm-5pm: After school he’s on it again, using a learning app while the rest of us ride the horses.

5.30pm-6pm: Watches YouTube while I make tea.

6.40pm-7pm: 20 mins before bed.

THURSDAY: One hour 50 minutes

7am: Ted wakes feeling unwell. He doesn’t use the iPad — but still wants to hold it.

4pm-4.20pm: At the doctor’s and we play a tablet game in the waiting room together.

5pm-6pm: Ted uses a learning app until tea.

6.45pm-7.15pm: Ted asks to listen to music through headphones while I read Matilda a story. But when I take it from him, he’s watching YouTube.

FRIDAY: Two hours 45 minutes

5.30am-7am: Ted climbs into bed with me at 5.30am — with his iPad already on. We cuddle while he watches YouTube.

7.30am-7.45am: I catch Ted watching his iPad when he’s supposed to be getting dressed, and confiscate it until the afternoon.

4pm-5pm: George’s birthday. Ted uses the iPad to take photos before joining in.

SATURDAY: Five hours

8am- 9.30am: We play on the iPad together.

10.30am-11.15am: I help Ted practise his phonics on the iPad.

6pm-6.15pm: Ted asks to play an iPad game. His hand- to- eye co-ordination is very quick!

SUNDAY: Five hours 8am-10am: Ted plays on the iPad while it is charging, sitting by