Kids texting not sleeping

Kids are going to school too tired to learn because of the temptations of late night texting and playing computer games.

Telecoms provider ACE-COMM says UK telcos could do more to help parents. Jock Percy, senior analyst at the firm, said: "Confiscating a child's phone seems an unreasonable invasion of privacy to most parents, but they may be at a loss to know how else to stop their text-obsessed teen from chatting with friends at all hours of the night."

Percy reckons UK mobile firms should follow the lead of companies like Disney which offers mobile services with restrictions parents can set.

A recent ACE-COMM survey found 80 per cent of UK teenagers have no restrictions put on their mobile phone use. A survey of Australian children found 42 per cent of boys and 40 per cent of girls were tired enough that their concentration was impaired at school because of late-night texting.

Research in the US found up to 28 per cent of school kids admitting falling asleep in class at least once a week. Nearly all kids in the US have at least one electronic device in their bedrooms - a TV, mobile phone, music player or games console. ®