Children are spending up to a year staring at TV and computer screens before they are seven, a former minister said yesterday.
Tim Loughton said that internet addiction in children could cause brain changes like those seen in alcoholics and habitual cocaine users.
The former Tory children’s minister cited research by Dr Aric Sigman, a psychologist who claims that many children have access to five screens at home. These are the main family TV, their own bedroom set, portable hand-held games consoles, a smartphone with games, internet and video, and a family computer, laptop or tablet.
Dr Sigman has warned that many are becoming addicted to them and depressed as a result.
Research has shown that some teenagers have six hours of screen time a