Evening Standard - Scream time: More parents calling in professionals to resolve family rows over gadget use
Increasing numbers of parents with young children are seeking help from professional coaches over screen time “battles” with their “addicted” offspring, experts said.
Device use has become the heart of many family rows, with some parents complaining of “triple-screening” — youngsters simultaneously viewing a television, laptop and smartphone.
Coaches say that occupational therapists they work with are worried that children are not learning simple resilience from climbing trees or running around outside, with some starting school unable to hold a pencil properly.
Research by agency Childwise found three in five parents have a rule or limit on the use of at least one device. Separate polling by London’s Parent Coaching Academy of 1,000 children found youngsters complain their hypocritical parents were setting bad examples by being glued to their own screens.
They dubbed family rows over the amount of time spent looking at screens “scream time”. Melissa Hood, founder of London parenting advisors The Parent Practice, said more parents of young children were seeking help.
She said: “We get a lot of parents who are concerned about the gradual encroachment of technology on children’s lives. Technology is more a concern for parents of younger children, whereas it used to be a concern for older kids. Some people are saying, ‘I cannot get my child off (screens) and we’re always battling about it’.
“You also see the lack of interaction between parents and children and that’s very disturbing.
“When kids are starting at school, their literacy is not what it should be because they haven’t got the language development as they’re not spending enough time in conversation. They’re also losing their fine motor skills.”
Ms Hood added that the best time to talk about device use, and to tempt youngsters into the real world, is not when they are in front of a screen.
Learning and behaviour specialist Noël Janis-Norton, author of Calmer, Easier, Happier Screen Time, said: “Almost every parent I work with is worried and feeling powerless because they can see the screen dependency.
“Many parents report their child toggling between their homework and social media so they’re not focused. Similarly, everybody tends to bring their phones to the dinner table.
“Parents often are not united in what they believe should be the rules around screen time in the home, so I help them get united. I talk to parents about having screen-free parts of the house and times of day. I have come across parents who want to ban it entirely but that’s not realistic, we’re going for a healthy use.”