Children are being taken into care after social workers find they are spending too much time in front of a screen.
In a survey done by councils around the country it revealed some of the more unique reasons children are being removed from their family homes and placed in care.
Councils are now seeing a major rise in the number of children placed in care due to their time on computers and watching TV.
Officials in Redcar and Cleveland noted a case of a young child being placed in a care home after her family had allowed her to stay up all night playing video games.
Councils have also seen cases of parents being neglectful because they themselves are spending far too much time in front of a screen which forced officials to place their children in care.
Other common reasons for children being removed from their homes included high levels of cigarette smoke in their houses as well as poor dental hygiene.
“Every effort is made to keep children at home if that is assessed as in a child’s best interests and social workers work with parents to improve a child’s life," said England's manager at the British Association of Social Workers, Maris Stratulis.
“However, if there are significant safeguarding concerns about the welfare of a child then an application to court may be considered.
“Any decision to remove a child from their family has to be made by a court of law following thorough consideration of evidence provided by a range of professionals and family members relating to the welfare checklist under the Children Act 1989.”
