Children starting school without basic skills due to too much screen time, says Stamford group
A group that supports families with phone use says teachers are noticing the impact in classrooms
Children are starting school without basic motor and language skills because of too much time spent on screens, according to a Stamford group that supports families with phone use.
The group says teachers are increasingly noticing the effects in classrooms, with children arriving less able to hold a pencil, throw a ball, or sit still and concentrate.
Gemma Holbird, from the group, said the change has become more noticeable the more schools they visit.
"When we go into schools, we already hear about the difference too much screen time is having," she said.
"Children are entering schools with less gross motor skills like ball throwing, or less able to use those fine motor skills like holding a pencil," she said.
"They also often have less vocabulary, and particularly an impaired ability to focus," she said.
"We notice that more and more as we go into classrooms - that children are not able to sit and listen as well as they have," she said.