Government urged to disrupt ‘addictive grip' of smartphones on children's lives

The Government is being urged to create child-friendly playful neighbourhoods and disrupt the 'addictive grip' of smartphones on children's lives.
Closures of playgrounds, busier roads, shortened school break times and the dominance of screentime have restricted children's opportunities to play, a report has suggested.
Urgent action is needed to create more opportunities for children to play outdoors and away from digital devices and social media, according to a report by the Raising the Nation Play Commission inquiry.
It warned: 'Too many of our children are spending their most precious years sedentary, doomscrolling on their phones and often alone, while their health and wellbeing deteriorates.'
The commission was chaired by Paul Lindley, founder of organic baby food manufacturer Ella's Kitchen, in partnership with the Centre for Young Lives think tank, which was co-founded by the former children's commissioner for England Baroness Anne Longfield.
It has called on the Government to establish a National Play Strategy for England, backed by an annual £125 million investment and led by a 'minister for play'.
The strategy should include a commitment to a 'step-change' in the quantity and quality of children's use of digital devices through stronger regulation, public engagement and information, and addressing addictive 'push' factors that have driven children online, the report added.
The inquiry has called on the Government to raise the digital age of consent to 16 and introduce a ban on smartphones in schools during the school day.
It added that it should become easier for parents to organise 'safe play' in their streets, and there should be a national ban on 'No Ball Games' signs.
A poll of 2,000 parents in England, commissioned by the inquiry, suggested that 55% of parents believe their youngest child plays outside less than they did when they were children.
Around three in four (76%) parents agree that people are generally less accepting of children playing outside on the street than when they were a child, according to the poll.
The Raising the Nation Play Commission brought together 19 expert commissioners to conduct a year-long inquiry into how play can be restored to every childhood in England.
Lady Longfield, executive chairwoman of the Centre for Young Lives, said: 'Too many of our children are spending their most precious years sedentary, doomscrolling on their phones and often alone, while their health and wellbeing deteriorates.
'It is no coincidence that the least happy generation, the generation with the highest rates of obesity and rising ill health, is the generation that plays less and less.
'As we have heard from a swathe of experts and professionals working with children over the last year, play is being squeezed out of childhoods, with drastic implications for children, our economy and public services.
'With so much at stake children really have everything to play for: their health, wellbeing, happiness, learning, and development depends on our ability to reignite the role of play.
'This report provides a blueprint for how we can get children playing again and also tackle the scourge of addictive doomscrolling, so we can prevent future generations from becoming glued to screens.'
Technology Secretary Pete Kyle has indicated he is considering an 'app cap' for children.
On Sunday, the minister signalled he was looking at measures to restrict the amount of time children spend on their phones, including through a possible 10pm curfew.
Mr Lindley, chairman of the Raising the Nation Play Commission, said: 'Creating truly playful communities is not just about better street design, traffic management, and reduced crime, but also about a reversal of the growing culture of intolerance towards children playing.
'This will also encourage more parents to have confidence they can let their children play out more freely, in the knowledge that their children will be both having a great time and are also safe.
'We need to give our children back the time, space, opportunity, freedom – and the right – to play again.'
A Government spokesperson said: 'We recognise the vital importance of play and access to nature as part of children's development and wellbeing as we strive to create the healthiest and happiest generation of children ever.
'Through our Plan for Change, we are setting young people up to achieve and thrive – both inside and outside the classroom.
'We have given hundreds of thousands of children the tools to turn their grey school spaces green as part of our National Education Nature Park, we are opening up grassroots sports to all with £100 million investment in facilities and we are working with experts to develop a framework to improve access to activities outside of school.
'Schools already have the power to completely ban phones in the classroom and the overwhelming majority – 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools – limit or restrict use.
'And from July, new rules under the Online Safety Act will require social media platforms to protect children in the UK from seeing harmful content online.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

17 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Germany to hire 11,000 more military personnel this year, Bild reports

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The German government will provide funds for an extra 11,000 military personnel by the end of the year, an increase of around 4%, tabloid Bild reported on Saturday, citing government sources. The money will be provided for 10,000 soldiers and 1,000 civilian employees for the military by end-2025, the newspaper said, adding the move was part of this year's budget planning to be approved by the cabinet next week. The new jobs will cover armed, air, naval and cyber forces, the report said. Germany's Defence Ministry declined to comment. Germany needs up to 60,000 additional troops under new NATO targets for weapons and personnel, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier this month, as the alliance beefs up its forces to respond to what it sees as an increased threat from Russia.

Yahoo

23 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Belarus frees opposition leader, 13 others in US-brokered deal

STORY: :: Video shows Belarus opposition leader Syarhei Tsikhanouski in an emotional embrace with his wife after his prison release :: June 21, 2025 :: Vilnius, Lithuania :: Other prisoners freed in the U.S.-brokered deal include former journalist Ihar Karnei Tsikhanouski was seen emerging from a van with a shaven head, smiling and immediately stepping up to hug his wife in a long embrace, a video released by her office showed. The release was brokered by U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg, a spokesperson for Lithuania's prime minister said. Five Belarus nationals were released along with three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese citizens, one Estonian and one Swede, Lithuania said. Tsikhanouski's wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a prominent opposition figure, posted video of her and her husband meeting Karnei and other freed prisoners.

Yahoo

43 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Protesters slam war profiteering, Israel at French air fair

Thousands marched on Saturday outside a French trade fair, calling for an end to war profiteering and Israel's offensive in Gaza in the latest demonstration to hit the event. The long-planned protest at the Paris Air Show outside the French capital also comes as Israel's war with Iran drags on into a ninth day, with Tehran threatening to hit back in force at Israel's offensive against its arch-rival. The presence of Israeli defence firms at the show has already become a bone of contention, with the French government on Monday sealing off the booths of five Israeli firms on the grounds that they were displaying offensive weapons that could be used in Gaza. "Their wars, their profits, our deaths, stop the genocide in Palestine," read the banner at the head of the march, which organisers claimed drew more than 4,000 protesters. "As we speak, people are dying and our governments are not doing anything to stop it," Nora, 29, told AFP at the protest. Draped in a Palestinian flag, the project leader in the pharmaceutical industry said that she felt "rage" at the footage coming out of Gaza, including that of "mothers kissing their dead children" in the besieged Palestinian territory. Police have arrested seven people aiming to disrupt the trade fair, the Paris public prosecutor office said, with officers discovering a helium canister and nearly 200 balloons during the searches. Six of the arrests were made on Friday and the other on Saturday, the prosecutor's office added. Drawing some 100,000 visitors a day, the Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airfield, nine kilometres (five miles) to the north of the capital, is usually dominated by displays of the aerospace industry's latest cutting-edge planes. But Monday's shuttering of the stands of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael, UVision and Elbit, as well as Aeronautics, which make drones and guided bombs and missiles, sparked a row with Israel. Israel's President Isaac Herzog branded Paris's closure of the Israeli firms' booths "outrageous", comparing it to "creating an Israeli ghetto". It came days after Israel, claiming Iran was on the verge of obtaining a nuclear bomb, launched a surprise barrage on June 13 which killed top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists. Tehran immediately hit back with a flurry of missiles, with the two countries trading wave after wave of devastating strikes since. lbx-mk/sha/sbk/ Sign in to access your portfolio