<\/p>\n
The Princess of Wales has warned about the dangers of mobile phones interrupting family life and making people lonely.<\/p>\n
She argues they are leading to an \u201cepidemic of disconnection\u201d<\/p>\n
Kate says too many parents risk becoming disconnected from their children which can have a detrimental effect on them as they grow older.<\/p>\n
She has co-authored an essay for her Centre for Early Childhood foundation, in which she says the quality of our relationships with our children and with each other \u201cmatters more than almost anything else\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who were more connected to others stayed healthier and were happier throughout their lives\u201d, Kate writes, referring decades-long study of adult development.<\/p>\n
The more meaningful the connection it found, the better the outcome and the quality of the connection outweighs the quantity of them.<\/p>\n
Her husband, Prince William, recently told an Apple TV documentary with the actor Eugene Levy that they have refused to allow their three children to have phones.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of our children has any phones, which we are very strict about\u201d, said William as he spoke about family meal times where they can tell each other what \u201cbothers\u201d them.<\/p>\n
The Princess of Wales has been a long-standing supporter of research into child development and made a visit to Oxford today to meet children and families.<\/p>\n
She authored the new essay with a respected academic on these issues, Professor Robert Waldinger of Harvard University.<\/p>\n
They wrote: \u201cPeople who developed strong social and emotional skills in childhood maintained warmer connections with their spouses six decades later\u201d.<\/p>\n