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Here’s a question for parents: how much time do your kids spend using electronic devices? If it’s a lot, you might be finding it hard to turn them away from those tiny screens. But it’s probably what you need to do.

Let’s admit it: we’re mesmerized by these devices. We’re glued to our phones. We’ll pick them up reflexively whenever there’s a pause in a conversation. Some of us won’t hesitate to check status updates, tweets and game scores between bites at the dinner table. The recent Pokemon Go! craze is driving hordes of people to distraction (and occasionally onto city streets). And for parents who feel stressed out and exhausted most of the time, it’s easy to just hand our restless kids a tablet with a bunch of easily accessible educational apps while we go and relax.

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If it all seems too good to be true, however, that’s because it is. Some researchers are now reporting on the consequences of our children’s digital habits – and they don’t like what they see.