Hannah Deez, from Warwickshire, says she knew she wanted her children to have “no or low” screen time after she gave birth during the Covid lockdowns.
Having achieved that aim, and despite the occasional family movie night and educational content online, Hannah says her kids have “barely seen a tablet”.
She says they are a very “outdoorsy and creative family” and so restricting screen time was a “no-brainer”.
“We don’t own a tablet,” she says.
“From day one we’ve said, ‘no, this is what we use telly for, this is what we use phones for’.
“They don’t really ask for games and videos and things like that on it because they know we’re going to say no.”
Hannah believes one of the main drivers behind screen time is apps and games marketed towards young children.
“I think restrictions on advertising apps and screen time to kids would be really beneficial,” she says.
“Children are sponges and they learn best from face-to-face time with a key caregiver – a parent, a teacher.”
While her children have little screen time, Hannah says this doesn’t mean they are never allowed it.
“It’s more about being really conscious about what we’re showing them, and if we are we watching something with them, we are watching it as a family.”
