Ministers to issue guidance on children's screen use

Ministers are to issue guidance for the first time ever on screen use for children.

The government has launched a three-week call for evidence to inform guidance – which will be published in autumn – to help parents of children aged five to 16.

It is expected to include practical tips on how much screen time children should have, when children should get their first smart phone, and how technology is used in schools.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said parents deserve “clear, practical support they can trust.”

Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said young people benefit from technology, but that children, parents, and carers struggle to find where the right balance, saying it is “the bane of our life”.

Dame Rachel, a co-chair of the call to evidence, told BBC Radio 4 Today programme that she gets questions from teenagers asking how to cut down on screen time, and they often say they want adults to intervene.

She said the consultation would also look at screen time broadly for under-16s and include gaming, and she told the programme she was optimistic about the consultation because there is cross-party consensus on the harms of too much screen-time for children.

This call to evidence is different to a consultation that closed last month on whether to ban social media for under-16s, restrictions on addictive design features and better support for parents.

In March, the government released guidance saying children under the age of five should be limited to one hour of screen time per day, while under-twos should not be watching screens alone.

The government said that long periods of time spent on screens alone can affect children’s sleep and physical activity, which are key to their development.