Young Children’s Screen Time Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Education
Alistair Strathern
Main Page: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)Department Debates - View all Alistair Strathern's debates with the Department for Education
Young Children’s Screen Time
Alistair Strathern Excerpts(6 days, 3 hours ago)
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Mr Charters
I thank the hon. Member for sharing his personal experience with us. I completely agree that young people need support in their real life, whether through youth services or physical activity.
Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend not just for securing this debate, but for speaking powerfully as a parent about why this is so important. We must be honest: guidance is great, but it can often miss the mark when it comes to answering the questions that parents are actually asking. I am holding a forum later in February to speak to local parents about exactly what they are looking for from the guidance. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important that the guidance, when we deliver it, is not only evidence-based, but grounded in the questions and experiences of parents right across Britain today?
Mr Charters
I thank my hon. Friend for all the work he is doing through the Labour group for men and boys. It is refreshing that this Government, and particularly the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, are carefully considering this with a lot of deep thought. The consultation will not look just for one silver bullet; it will look at a variety of options.
Children are spending hours a day on platforms designed to maximise engagement and deliver constant dopamine hits through short-form video content and infinite scroll loops. The evidence increasingly shows that that is affecting attention, behaviour in schools, sleep and emotional regulation.