Educator and parenting expert Nathan Wallis talks to Kathryn about the things that kiwi parents worry about the most. They're revealed in a nationwide survey of 1200 parents by the health insurer nib New Zealand. The amount of time children spend on screens , their mental health and balancing work and family are among the top concerns.

The amount of time children spend on screens , their mental health and balancing work and family are among the top concerns parents have for their children according to a nationwide survey of 12,000 parents by the health insurer nib New Zealand.

Educator and parenting expert Nathan Wallis was an advisor and joined Kathryn Ryan to discuss the findings.

He says it's the third year nib has run the survey and, for the third consecutive time, screen time has topped the concerns shared by parents. With various lockdowns, it's no surprise children and parents have turned to screens.

Listen to the full interview

"With screen time particularly, because of us being in lockdown, there's been a lot more screen time, but that was the main concern even before we had lockdown. Lockdown would have intensified it because people's kids were on the screen a lot more.

"It is a bit experimental, parents know it's a new thing, they don't know what damage it's causing, they hear all these alarming things about it causing addictive behaviour in the brain, so I can see why they're concerned."

There were some positives from lockdowns with parents saying they really enjoyed spending more time with their families and wanted to maintain that.

Another positive step, Wallis says, is that parents and adults are starting to believe that there is more pressure on children today than there was in their own childhood.

"You hear people at the local pub going, 'this generation have got it so much easier, they've got their own bedroom and an Xbox and Playstation'. But what the nib survey shows is that they are acknowledging it's a whole lot harder, there's a lot more pressures for teenagers and children today than there was for previous generations."

Back to screen time, Wallis says parent's concerns are valid given research shows there is an increased risk of anxiety and depression the more screen time we have.

"There's a real concern for parents and it's valid. But if you come from a household where parents have two hours device-free time a day, that takes kids completely outside that risk group. What that tells me is we don't have to take away their devices, we just have to give their brains two hours a day in the conditions in which it's evolved, which is continuous communication and interaction…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details