SWITCH OFF FOR AN HOUR

PARENTS should avoid letting their children use mobile phones, tablets or computers an hour before bedtime and agree screen time limits, according to new official guidance.

Experts say that looking at screens such as phones, tablets or computers in the hour before bed can disrupt sleep and impact children’s health and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, spending long periods on the gadgets is associated with unhealthy eating and a lack of exercise.

Issuing the first official guidelines on screen time, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health recommended time limits and a curfew, but said parents need not worry that using devices was harmful in itself.

Parents are often told gadgets can pose a risk but they can in fact be a valuable tool for children to explore the world, the college said. Dr Max Davie, the college’s officer for health promotion, added: “We suggest age-appropriate boundaries are established, negotiated by parent and child, that everyone in the family understands. When these boundaries are not respected, consequences need to be put in place.”