p>Parents should discourage children from looking at phone and computer screens before school because it can damage their concentration.

Clinical psychologist Linda Blair also called for a ban on schools giving homework that needs to be done on computers as this is contributing to children becoming tired and unfocused.

She told the Cheltenham Science Festival ‘It makes me mad because a lot of schools are doing screen homework. It’s so stupid! I wish they wouldn’t do that.’

The blue light emitted from computer screens has been shown to push down the levels of melatonin, a chemical produced by the body that helps us have a restful sleep.

And screen use before school can raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol which make it harder to concentrate, she said.

In her experience as a clinician, discouraging screen use among young people ‘was not a popular move’

‘But when they try it they can be transformed. I encourage people to try it for a couple of days.’

Miss Blair said children coming to her clinic with suspected Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) would generally see some improvement if they practised ‘screen management’.

She admitted that it is difficult, especially with teenagers, to agree. 

‘Their job description is to defy you’, but she advised parents may have success if they set an example and limit their own screen use.

‘You have to stay off screens yourself,’ she said, ‘And nobody wants to do that.’

She criticised school screen homework while answering a question from a mother how to restrict her childrens’ access to screens - phones computers and PlayStations.

Families have to be disciplined about the use of screens - with parents being good role models, she said.

‘Try and establish one point in the day where the family focuses on each other. That used to be called ‘dinner’!  - all screens off and you actually talk to each other.

‘They will moan, but ten years from now they will remember it and thank you.

‘You have to set limits. You can’t ban these things. Kids have got to know how to manage their screens and be in control.

‘Screens should be off half an hour before bedtime and no screens before school, which admittedly is hard to do.’

Miss Blair, author of the book ‘The Key to Calm’ was talking at the Festival about practicing mindfulness and its role in combating stress.

In 2010, research from the University of Bristol advocated parents limiting children’s use of screens for two hours a day.

The study found that children who used screens more heavily were more likely to agree with statements such as ‘I am unhappy’ compared to children who got regular exercise.

Written Colin Fernandez

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