Swiping Through Childhood – Are We Setting Up a Generation to Struggle?

Last weekend I was helping my brother Peter Barker with some work he was doing at a local nursery school. Whilst I was there, I got talking with the manager who told me something that’s stuck with me ever since. She said children as young as two and three are now trying to swipe and scroll the pages of printed books.

It’s one of those moments that makes you pause. On the surface, it might seem harmless—even amusing. But it’s also a stark reminder of just how embedded smartphones and tablets have become in children’s lives and minds long before they can walk or talk.

The digital world isn’t going anywhere, nor should it. Technology can be brilliant, creative, and connecting. But when screen time begins to replace real-world interaction, imaginative play, and emotional connection, we have to ask: what are we sacrificing?

At Youth Talk, we’re increasingly seeing the consequences further down the line. Young people arriving at our counselling rooms overwhelmed by anxiety, social pressures, low self-esteem, and isolation—struggles that often have roots in a digital childhood that began far too early.

This isn’t about blame. It’s about awareness. Because behind so many mental health challenges is a story that’s been unfolding for years. And while we’re here to support young people now, the real solutions start much earlier—with how we parent, how we set boundaries, how we model healthy habits and how we support our young people.

We need a collective wake-up call. Early intervention doesn’t just mean catching problems when they emerge. It means helping families understand the risks of too much screen time too young. It means giving children space to be bored, to be creative, to be real. It means protecting childhood.

While visiting the nursery, I was delighted to also see Karen Snook, who told me about a growing community movement that deserves your attention. Unplugged Early Years is doing vital work to raise awareness of the hidden harms of excessive screen time in young children. Their message is simple but powerful: let’s protect childhood while we still can. I’d really encourage you to take a look and sign their pledge. You can find out more at unpluggedearlyyears.co.uk.

At Youth Talk, we’re doing everything we can to meet the rising tide of need—but we can’t do it alone. If you’re a parent, a teacher, a policymaker, an influencer or simply someone who cares about young people, now is the time to act.

Because swiping through childhood shouldn’t be the norm. And if we get this right, we won’t just change young lives—we’ll help save them.