About a third of younger children and nearly 40% of young teens say they rarely get eight hours of sleep a night.
Professor Kurt Lushington of the University of South Australia said it was important to put screen time limits in place for children of all ages.
“If you look at how much they actually sleep during school holidays…that probably gives you a good rule of thumb for how much they need,” he said.
Susan, a Melbourne mum of two sons aged 8 and 11, said she made sure screens weren’t used during the late hours of the night.
“It’s critical, if you can’t sleep…you can’t function. I can’t function…they can’t function,” she said.
“The boys don’t have a phone yet. They’re a bit young.”
“We keep them away after dinner…as much as possible.”
Experts say one of the big concerns about growing screen addiction and lack of sleep is the impact it can have on concentration in school.
That’s why they suggest that even educators have a role to play in promoting healthy sleep.
“It’s a combined thing, I think parents, schools, the media and the community as a whole play a role,” Prof Lushington said.
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