By Eleanor Harding Education Editor For The Daily Mail
Published: 00:00 GMT, 20 February 2019 | Updated: 01:41 GMT, 20 February 2019
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Parents should use iPads and smartphones to educate their children rather than simply letting them play games, the Education Secretary has said.
Damian Hinds called on families to use technology more ‘positively’ amid fears children are spending too much time glued to their screens.
Experts have previously warned that some parents are using tablet devices as an easy way to keep children quiet – with little knowledge of what they are actually looking at.
Meanwhile, children are turning up to school unable to speak properly or understand basic commands because of lack of practice at home.
Damian Hinds called on families to use technology more ‘positively’ amid fears children are spending too much time glued to their screens
Mr Hinds says parents should instead harness the available technology to help their children improve literacy skills.
He has now commissioned a panel of experts to compile a list of apps that promote child development, especially among under-fives.
It will be the first Government-approved list of education apps, and 20,000 disadvantaged families will get free access to them as part of a pilot project.
Mr Hinds said yesterday: ‘No parent has all of the answers. Our children are growing up in a constantly-changing world and it is hard to keep up.
‘And when it comes to children and technology – that’s where a manual can be helpful. Not all screen-time is created equal.
Today, they’re glued to their tablets – tomorrow they’ll be programming them.
Children as young as two are being given lessons in computer coding to prepare them for the country’s increasingly digital future.
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