Government links shorter working hours to less screen time for children

The Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, has stressed the need to link the debate on the use of screens by minors with policies to reduce working hours and family reconciliation. In an interview with Europa Press, she stressed that it is essential to ensure that children have more time with their families, an objective that involves reducing working hours and promoting reconciliation policies.

• A neuropsychologist recommends that children spend as little time as possible in front of screens and explains why.

This debate takes place in a context in which the government has signed, through Vice President Yolanda Díaz, an agreement to reduce the working week to 37.5 hours by 2025. According to Rego, these measures are key to ensure a balanced child development, away from digital dependency.

Policies to protect children

Rego advocates for cities with a child-friendly perspective and for strengthening children’s right to play, stressing that this requires “physical spaces for socialization” that go beyond the digital realm. According to the conclusions of a group of 50 experts, the minister proposed limiting the use of screens in three stages:

1. From 0 to 6 years old: no screens.
2. From 6 to 10 years old: limited use, under adult supervision.
3. From 12 to 16 years old: preference for analog mobiles without Internet access.

Rego stated that he is not against the digital environment, but advocates an orderly introduction that respects the rights of minors and minimizes risks.

Secure Digital Environments Act and legislative developments

The minister highlighted that 35 of the 107 measures proposed by the experts are already part of the draft bill on safe digital environments, with the aim of regulating the digital environment and offering security to families. “It is important that as a society we commit ourselves to the democratic control of digital environments,” she said. Rego stressed that technological advances bring opportunities, but also challenges that need regulation based on scientific evidence. “A digital environment without public control puts society’s economic, political and social relations at risk,” he warned.

Healthy eating in school canteens

On another subject, Rego defended the approval of a royal decree to guarantee healthy eating in school canteens. This work, led by the Ministry of Social Rights, seeks to instill good nutritional habits based on scientific evidence. However, the minister criticized the lack of collaboration of some autonomous communities, such as Andalusia and Extremadura, which have returned funds earmarked for public education and have closed places in school canteens. ” Good coordination between the State and the autonomous communities is essential for childhood policies to have a real impact,” she concluded.

• “It pains me to see people immersed in the screen instead of looking each other in the eye and connecting, which is what humanity is most lacking right now.”