Children: Computers
(asked on 6th June 2016) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued on limiting the amount of time children spend on computers.
In 2011, the Chief Medical Officer warned of the need to minimise the time spent being sedentary and recommended increasing the physical activity levels of children. Public Health England (PHE) is actively working to support these recommendations. PHE also promotes ‘The Health Behaviour in School aged Children England national report’ which highlights current trends of screen time amongst 11, 13 and 15 year olds and refers to a recommendation by the American Academy of Paediatrics that young people’s screen time is limited to no more than two hours per day. The report can be accessed:
http://www.hbscengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/National-Report-2015.pdf
PHE published in 2013 the report ‘How healthy behaviour supports children’s wellbeing’ which communicates the significance of screen time amongst other health behaviours that influence the wellbeing of children. The report can be accessed:
The Start4Life Information Service for Parents sends timely, trusted National Health Service content to parents and parents-to-be via email and text from pregnancy until their child is five to provide information and support healthy behaviour change. The service highlights the importance of play and interaction with others for cognitive development in the under-2s and recommends that no time be spent in front of a screen at this age.