A school principal has spoken out about how constant phone use is impacting children’s development.

In a letter published in the school newsletter, west Sydney’s Glendenning Public School Principal, Doug Meaney, said students starting Kindergarten have ‘poor speaking skills’ as a result of parents choosing to spend more time with technology than their children.

Principal Meaney shared examples of how he has seen the relationship between parent and child change due to smart phones and tablets, according to the Daily Telegraph.

In the letter he encouraged parents to take more time to speak with their children or even setting aside some ‘talking time’.

The calls from Mr Meaney were supported by parenting experts who have been desperately calling for parents to ‘put down their phones’.

An international survey of 2200 mothers in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Europe had shown that children’s basic motor skills, tying shoelaces, or riding a bicycle were being ‘superseded by tech savvy’.

It is very worrying for today’s youth that’s for sure!

Earlier this year Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham wants phones kept out of classrooms, calling them a distraction and “platform for bullying”. Read more here.

Last year a study revealed Children whose mothers frequently spoke on their mobile phones while pregnant are more likely to be hyperactive. Read more here.

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