Parents worry on screen time

The nationwide study revealed that 61 per cent of children aged five to 11 have a laptop, TV tablet or phone with them all night.

While 37 per cent of UK mums and dads admit that on an average bad weather weekend, their children will be on screens for the majority of the day, from the moment they get up until bedtime.

Frances Busby, Managing Director, Create and Craft said: “It’s clear children are spending a considerable amount of time on their screens and, through necessity, they are often quite literally left to their own devices.

“While screens have many positives, we know many parents are keen to find ways for their children to explore the world in other ways.

“Activities like crafting can be a great for making children less reliant on screens and it doesn’t just have to be traditional pursuits like sewing and paper – there are many options now that are really fun but also build on areas like STEM to help develop children’s critical thinking skills and sense of curiosity.”

The average primary school child spends 16 hours every week looking at screens at home, which equates to 34 solid days every year - more than a solid month. And this doesn’t include the time spent on a screen during school hours.

The data also revealed that a quarter (24 per cent) of UK primary school kids spend 30 hours on gadgets at home every week, while one in 20 (four per cent) are on them for 40 hours - the equivalent of a 9 to 5 job.

And more than one in 10 (12 per cent) of the 1,500 parents polled confessed to having no idea what their kids were looking at online.

The study, by multi-channel retailer Create and Craft, also found that 29 per cent of parents of primary school kids said that - although they were desperate to get their children off screens - they could hardly ever think of things to do together at home that weren’t screen-based.

And 93 percent of the parents polled said they worry their children’s generation are spending too much time on technology and not enough being imaginative or creative.

More than half (53 per cent) of parents admitted that lockdown had seen a huge rise in their child’s screen time.

And over one in five (22 per cent) acknowledged they had relied on screens to act as babysitters while they juggled work and childcare over the summer months.

According to the study, nearly a third (32 per cent) of UK mums and dads said that, even though they’ve set clear screen time limits, their little ones frequently pester until they give in.

Create and Craft’s STEM learning kits for 18 months-11 years.