England’s children’s commissioner urges parents to cut back on phone use during family time this Christmas

• Nearly half of parents plan to allow phones at the Christmas dinner table, according to recent survey data.
• De Souza said many children report sitting through meals while their parents scroll on their phones.
• Research by More in Common for Yondr found that almost four in 10 adults say smartphones have disrupted Christmas.
• De Souza said screen-time boundaries must apply to adults as well as children.

Parents have been urged to lead by example and limit their own phone use during family time this Christmas. 

According to the BBC, England’s children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said children want more attention from their families over the festive period and called on parents to introduce phone-free time.

Her comments follow survey data claiming that nearly half of parents with children aged 18 or under plan to allow phones at the Christmas dinner table this year.

"I can't tell you how many children tell me about sitting at dinner and the parents are on the phone," de Souza claimed. "So this Christmas, let's turn them off."

Leading as adults 

Research conducted by More in Common for Yondr found that almost four in 10 adults believe smartphones have disrupted their Christmas in some way. 

De Souza acknowledged she had previously used her phone during mealtimes herself, but stressed that setting clear boundaries must apply to adults as well as children.

"We have to lead as adults," de Souza said. "We can't talk about banning for the kids if we're not doing it ourselves."

Her comments coincide with the launch of a new online guide aimed at helping parents navigate children’s digital safety and screen time. 

The guide offers practical tips and conversation starters covering issues such as managing device use, dealing with negative online experiences, and understanding the role of artificial intelligence.

UK governments have been closely scrutinising online platforms in recent years. The Online Safety Act came into force earlier in 2025, introducing regulations aimed at making digital spaces safer, including video games.

The implementation of the regulation was largely ill-received by our Mobile Mavens.

"It won't come as any surprise that I feel this legislation is ill-thought through, poorly conceived and basically a 'Snooper's Charter' by the back door," said Arcanix chief strategy officer Oscar Clark. "Or perhaps it's the 'Great Firewall of the UK'.

"As much as it's about "protecting the kids", in reality it won't realistically do more than provide a chilling effect on the development of any content which someone considers not appropriate, as well as barring access to many adults' completely legitimate content, and even more who will voluntarily exclude themselves to protect their private identity.

"We only have to see the reactions from Steam and Itch to see that this overreach has already started."