Young children left to watch screens in the morning are three times more likely to suffer speech or learning difficulties and often exhibit disturbed behaviour, according to French researchers.

A new study released by the French Public Health authority on Tuesday says children are likely to become agitated from watching TVs, iPads or mobiles in the morning, and tend to remain disturbed for the rest of the day.

Passive screen watching can make them more prone to hitting or scratching other children at school, according to the study by University of Rennes researchers, which looked at 276 children aged from 3.5 to 6.5 years old.

It concluded that speech or language disorders are three times more likely in children left to watch screens in the morning.

The risk is six times higher if the children do not talk with their parents about what they have watched, according to the study.

Lise Barthélemy, a child psychiatrist, said: “Screens in the morning make them over-excited for the entire day. I deal a lot with agitated children showing disturbed behaviour.”