Top psychologist says mobile phones will turn kids into 'zombies'

Psychologist Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg, who is a high-profile expert on adolescent behaviour, says parents who allow children to take mobile phones to bed with them and let them text friends late at night are stupid.

A survey of 257 parents of 517 children for the Generation Next health and well being seminar series has revealed that almost 70% of children under 18 have a mobile phone - this includes children as young as 4 - and as many as one in four primary school children with a phone, take it to bed with them.

Dr. Carr-Gregg says that almost 1.6 million children under 18 were allowed mobiles in their room at night and this is leading to a generation of overtired "zombies".

Peer pressure

According to Dr. Carr-Gregg too many parents give young children phones and 40% of such children were sleep-deprived on school nights and 69% of 12 to 18 year-olds were sleep deprived.

Dr. Carr-Gregg says due to peer pressure it has become normal for Year 5 and 6 pupils to have phones and 6 and 7 year olds are staying up until the early hours 'texting' messages to their friends and many also have unabridged internet access.

He says 'time-poor' parents have largely been to blame and often attempt to compensate by allowing phones at a young age, as well as TVs and computers in bedrooms.

Dr. Carr-Gregg says many are incapable of saying no and despite luxurious homes many children grow up in emotional silos and he believes the economic recession will exacerbate the problem - he says no child should be allowed to own a phone until high school, and depending on the child's age, all technology should be off by 10pm at the latest.

Zombies

Dr. Carr-Gregg says young brains can only function if they are rested and replenished and he predicts a future generation of zombies who arrive at school sleep-deprived.

Dr. Carr-Gregg is supported in his views by family psychologist Dr. Andrew Fuller who says electronics of any kind in bedrooms is a problem and he also agrees that many parents were reluctant to "displease their children", which meant too many were losing sleep. Dr. Fuller says as long as parents lay down guidelines there will not be a problem.

The seminar series brings together an independent group of medical experts and psychologists who conduct research into the behaviour of children and teenagers and will include a session in Brisbane on September 5th this year.

Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg is one of Australia's highest profile adolescent psychologists and an Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne with a successful private practice in Melbourne.

He has written five best selling books on adolescents and is a founding member of the National Centre Against Bullying, an official ambassador for the National Depression Initiative - Beyondblue, Reachout, as well as Mindmatters and also writes a column for a teen magazine; he is also a regular on a number of TV and radio talk shows.