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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Claire O'Boyle

How much is too much screen time for your children?

It's one of the biggies when it comes to parenting - how much tech should our kids be using?

There's the purist parents with an out and out ban, those on the other extreme with wee ones constantly glued to a tablet, and those mums and dads in the middle who reckon Peppa Pig is a lifesaver on the weekly shop..

But what's the right approach?

This week, the NSPCC's resident expert Margaret Gallagher is talking to Belfast Live's parenting podcast Is This Normal? about the reality of life for kids in the digital age.

(Getty)

She said: "There's this assumption that everything they're doing is bad and that everything they're doing is bad, and that everything we're doing is good.

"We're doing our banking and our groceries, we're looking at holidays. But we're also looking at news and gossipy stuff as well. It's very much similar.

"But there is also the gaming and reliance on social media. So is it bad if somebody's been online for four hours watching something educational or interesting? Somebody else could be online for 20 minutes and do something completely daft or be on a risky site.

"So we look at the quality of what they're doing, and also, what's the benefits?"

Click here to listen to this week's Is This Normal?

Margaret also shares her insights on social media and building "online resilience" for teenagers, and explains why the tide is turning on mums and dads who love a bit of online "share-enting".

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