Advice conflicts on parenthood

The nation had been fed a seemingly endless stream of statements about what leaving the European Union would mean and much of it was counter to the arguments of the Leave lobby, of which Mr Gove was a key member.We have since learned that much of what was spouted by both sides during that tediously vitriolic campaign was more Walt Disney than Westminster but does this prove that we should disregard the advice of experts for evermore?

It hasn’t deterred Mr Gove who, in his position of Environment Secretary, leads a Government department full of civil servants and experts, who hand out advice and make recommendations on an almost daily basis.

But I do find myself in the uncomfortable position of agreeing with him when it comes to experts as there are just so many of these people out there today, desperate to have their advice taken as gospel by the masses.

Now the World Health Organisation has stepped in, telling parents everywhere that children under the age of two should not have any screen time at all. This is contrary to other advice issued in recent years, meaning us parents are now officially flummoxed.

But I would question whether anybody within the WHO, particularly those responsible for this latest report have ever met a child, never mind be parents themselves, because keeping children, of any age, away from a screen is impossible.

You would get more luck trying to stop dogs taking an interest in each other’s backside than you would trying to deprive a little person of any screen time whatsoever.

Yes, tearing a child away from a screen is never easy but, in my experience, even little ones can benefit from some virtual interaction - as long as it isn’t at the expense of them receiving a parent’s undivided attention at bedtime.