100 signatures reached
To: Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP
Support our two-hour daily recommendaton for children's recreational screen-time
We would like the government to introduce a clearer guideline for parents on what constitutes acceptable levels of daily screen-time for children and young people.
Why is this important?
The recent report, Movement for Movement, published by Dr. Aric Sigman, strongly supports the premise that recreational screen-time is increasingly displacing outdoor play among children as young as two years old, and this is having a detrimental effect on their physical and mental heath. Currently, by the age of eight, the average child will have spent one full year sitting in front of a screen and this is beginning to take a toll on our children.
Based on the research outlined by Dr. Sigman in the report, we strongly support the introduction of a two-hour a day maximum recreational screen-time allowance for children and young people, and we want the government to formally introduce this as the guideline for parents.
Parents and carers need a clearer guideline from the government on what constitutes acceptable levels of discretionary screen-time, and how children should balance use of screen-based devices with other activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. This is becoming more important in recent times, especially as children's recreational screen-time has increased by 50% in less than a decade. We are also losing our outdoor space, with playgrounds closing at an alarming rate, 347 closures since 2014, and many more planned.
You can explore more facts and figures around how screen-time is displacing play, and what the health implications are for children on our website:
