Children’s Commissioner warns of internet ‘junk food’ as new campaign launches

Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield OBE has called for parents to be proactive in stopping their children from bingeing on the internet during the summer holidays.

Longfield was launching a new ‘Digital 5 A Day’ campaign, which is based on the NHS’s evidence-based ‘Five steps to better mental wellbeing’ and aims to give children and parents easy to follow, practical steps to achieve a healthy and balanced ‘digital diet’.

The 5 elements are: Connect, Be active, Get creative, Give to others, Be mindful.

She stated: “I don’t think parents should be afraid of children’s digital lives – but what they should avoid doing is allowing their children to use the internet and social media in the same way they would use sweets or junk food given half the chance. You wouldn’t let an 8-year-old eat a double cheeseburger and fries every day of the year, so it’s important children aren’t left to use smart phones, computers or tablets without agreed boundaries.

The Children’s Commissioner continued: “I hope 5 A Day will be at the very least a starting point for parents to tackle one of the modern parenting world’s newest and biggest dilemmas and help children to lead the way as active digital citizens.”