Cut screen time in classrooms to avoid long-term health issues, government urged

The amount of time children in England spend on screens at school could be harming their physical and developmental health, a group of more than 150 clinicians has warned. GPs, paediatricians and other specialists said in an open letter to Education Secretary Lucy Powell and Health Secretary Yvette Cooper that tablets and laptops are being used without a full understanding of their long-term health impacts, including on eye health. The clinicians said they are prescribing glasses, hearing aids and speech therapy to children for a problem that is unintentionally being made worse in our schools. The government said it was consulting on screen time guidance for children aged five to 18 but that technology could be a powerful learning tool if used properly. The group of clinicians said nearly one million children are using screens in most lessons, despite studies suggesting a rise in short-sightedness.