"We've known for a while about children starting school still in nappies, or speaking in Americanisms absorbed from hours stuck in front of YouTube, or even struggling to sit upright because they've spent too long slumped over an iPad to develop core muscles. So sadly, it's not surprising to read of early-years workers telling the LGA they see more and more pre-schoolers who can barely speak, play with others or contain their rage when things don't go their way."
"Too often, another practitioner said, children are not spoken to at home, but offered screens all day at mealtimes, out shopping, or in the car with parents seemingly scared of provoking tantrums if they take the phone away. The report describes a complex puzzle with multiple causes: poverty, and the parental exhaustion that comes of a hardscrabble life; growing up in a pandemic; changes in early-years provision; and way too much screen time."
A growing number of pre-school children show alarming delays in language, social interaction, and emotional regulation, sometimes failing to respond to their own names. Contributing factors include poverty, parental exhaustion, pandemic disruption, diminished early-years provision, and excessive screen exposure. Some homes rely on screens for long periods, including at meals and in cars, reducing conversational interaction and parental engagement. Solutions require both additional funding and targeted early intervention, including lifting welfare limits, providing speech and SEND support through family hubs, promoting reading, and replicating effective predecessor programmes where possible.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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