Word on the Street: How much time do your children spend on iPads and games consoles?

Too much screen time is affecting children’s emotional development - we asked people in Ipswich what they thought about the issue.

Children as young as three are hindering the development of their emotional intelligence by spending too long staring at screens.

Emotional intelligence helps manage feelings and moods, aids effective communication and protects against mental health problems.

Children are spending more hours alone playing high-tech games than they are with other kids, meaning they are not learning how to share, communicate effectively or develop emotions.

However, it isn’t just children that are engaging in too much screen time.

New research by the reading charity Booktrust has found parents are spending four times as long on screen as they are reading to their young children.

Psychologist Dr Amanda Gummer, founder of Fundamentally Children, said: “There’s a growing concern that the increase in remote communication hinders children’s emotional development and children today can find it more difficult to understand and manage their emotions.

“Interpersonal relationships play a huge role in the development of emotional skills and there’s a worrying trend for children to spend less time socialising with others and more time in solitary situations, so they may be getting fewer opportunities to practice those important skills.”