Supernanny Jo Frost shares the warning signs your child is becoming ‘entitled’

Supernanny host Jo Frost has warned parents to curb little ones’ screen time, claiming constant use of social media is causing ‘entitled’ behaviour in children.

It’s already a contentious topic for many mums and dads, raising questions about how harmful these sites really are for development.

According to the parenting expert though, there are plenty of reasons to steer clear – and there will be clear signs if your child’s tech usage has gone too far.

On Instagram, Jo, 54, listed a number red flags of a problematic relationship to social media in kids, calling on parents to look at how their own actions may have contributed to the issue too.

‘Maybe you, the adult, have addictive behavioural challenges too,’ she said.

‘It is easy to bypass yourself and enable your children. We’ve all done one thing – or many – however, with more awareness we can reduce the distraction and put in more action to change our behaviour.’

Worried you might be defaulting to devices more than you should have? Noticing some concerning habits but not sure if they’re down to screens? Wondering whether you should put your foot down on social media scrolling?

Here’s Jo’s list of what to be aware of:

• ‘Travelling – can’t sit in a car, on a plane, experience “boredom” without needing to be occupied with social media.
• ‘Queuing – can’t wait their turn without complaining, entitled behaviour. Needs your cellphone to be pacified?
• ‘Life Experiences – missing out because social media becomes the biggest distraction.
• ‘Socialising – can’t interact face to face with peers, they feel “awkward”.
• ‘Can’t just be in the moment – everything they do they think is relevant to billions of others needing to see.
• ‘Bystander effect – this urgency to be the first to capture. Would rather film it, than go help and assist.
• ‘Defined by likes – mood swings behaviour changes, chasing the high numbers all the time.
• ‘Child causes drama – pacified when you provide the cellphone or iPad.
• ‘Sleeping problems – phone must be with them at all times. A checking obsession.
• ‘Eating – has to have the phone on the table or keep checking when eating.’

The Channel 4 star’s post highlights a growing trend in young people, as a new report from the Education Select Committee found that one in four children now use their phone in a manner resembling addiction.

Previous research revealed that 60% of parents feel their kids are addicted to smartphones, alongside 77% who claim their child gets distracted by devices and doesn’t pay attention at least a few times per week. The vast majority of respondents also say they’re concerned that their children’s mobile device use is negatively affecting their mental health.