Six Million UK Families Face Screen Time Struggle Every Night, Reveals Care.com Survey

LONDON, Aug. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- More than a third of parents argue with their children on a daily basis over the amount of time they spend glued to a screen.

In a survey conducted by Care.com, an online marketplace for finding and managing family care, more than 800 parents revealed the extent of their children's screen time and how usage affects their day-to-day lives.

It revealed one in ten children under 18 are sat in front of a screen for more than 50 hours a week -double the time that they spend at school per week (typically 25-27.5 hours) and more than the average weekly working hours for adults in the UK (32.20 hours as of January 2019).

35% of parents admitted to arguing with their children daily over the amount of time they spend with technology - and 48% said they rowed at least once per week. With 19 million families in the UK, that's more than six million families facing the screen time struggle every night.

A third of parents quizzed by Care.com also felt their children should spend less time with their screens, while nearly half admitted they feel the use of smart devices is impacting on their quality family time.

Katrin Lewandowski, family expert at Care.com, said: "The fact that one in ten children spend more than ten hours a day in front of a screen is highly concerning. If you consider the fact they're at school for six of these hours, it's likely they're coming home and spending the rest of their evening with technology.

"What's also worrying is how much of a negative impact screen time is having on families. While some respondents said watching videos and playing online or video games are activities they enjoy together, it seems technology is doing more to damage relationships, and now we know that behind closed doors tonight, and every night, millions of families up and down the country will be having the same conversation!"

Earlier this year the World Health Organization released new guidelines which state that babies and toddlers should spend no time looking at screens, and under-fives should be limited to one hour a day.

To view the full results of the Care.com report, visit https://www.care.com/en-gb/parenting-and-technology-report.

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