2 HOURS INTERNET CUT-OFF FOR KIDS – For the first time, guidelines will state how long youngsters should be allowed to spend on video games, television, mobile phones and tablets.

2 HOURS INTERNET CUT-OFF FOR KIDS…

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Government urges parents to limit their children’s social media use to TWO hours at a time

Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies’s formal guidelines come after content promoting suicide and self-harm was linked to death of Molly Russell, 14

CHILDREN should be limited to just two hours-a-time on social media – new official advice will declare next week.

In the first formal guidelines ever, the Chief Medical Officer will pile huge pressure on web giants to introduce a cut-off for under-18s.

Kids should then take “exercise breaks”. The move comes amid growing alarm at a generation hooked on social media.

Campaigners are likely to demand the crackdown – to be unveiled by Dame Sally Davies next Thursday – goes even further.

Research earlier this week found under-fives spend four hours and 16 minutes a day glued to screens – including online, ,gaming and TV.

Seven in ten of those aged 12 to 15 took smartphones to bed.

And a fifth of children aged 8-12 are on social media – despite supposed bans on under-13s. The new guidelines revealed by James Forsyth in today’s Sun follow an official request from Health Secretary Matt Hancock

The Tory high-flyer last weekend demanded social media giants remove suicide and self-harm material from their sites after the father of a 14-year old teenager blamed Instagram for her death.

PUSH FOR SCREEN LIMIT…

Screen limits for children: Government lays out its first official guidelines for youngsters’ web use – as it tells parents to enforce breaks every two hours and BAN social media at bedtime

• EXCLUSIVE: For the first time, Chief Medical Officer lays down usage guidelines 
• Sally Davies recommends a break every 2 hours, no social media at before bed
• It comes after Ian Russell blamed Instagram for the death of his daughter Molly
• But Dam Sally will report there is no definitive link between technology and growing mental health problems among children and young people. 

Parents will officially be told to limit children’s screen time to protect their health.

For the first time, guidelines will state how long youngsters should be allowed to spend on video games, television, mobile phones and tablets.

Children should break off at least every two hours and avoid social media before bedtime, according to the guidance from chief medical officer Sally Davies. It comes amid concern about the harm technology can cause. Ahead of the advice’s release next week:

• An academic blamed Instagram for the suicide of her 11-year-old daughter and demanded a crackdown on social media sites;
• Children too young to be allowed social media accounts told researchers that getting around lax age restrictions was a ‘game’;
• A Church of England bishop said online firms should pay heavy fines if they failed to take down damaging content;
• A study found that children who looked at screens before bedtime were far more likely to be sleep-deprived during the week.

Dame Sally will next week conclude there is no definitive link between use of technology and growing levels of mental health problems among children and young people.