Parents’ reliance on AI means some children are starting school unable to speak in sentences

Children are being read bedtime stories by Alexa and are starting school unable to speak in sentences, teachers warn.

A survey found that families are relying on the virtual assistant to entertain their children – while some four and five-year-olds try to ‘swipe’ books as they are so addicted to mobile phones.

The findings were revealed in a poll of 100 reception teachers about pupils who started school this month.

Eighty-two per cent said ‘increasing numbers of children aren’t adequately prepared to start school’. 

The same proportion claim there are more speech and language issues than five years ago. 

One teacher said more than half their intake ‘cannot speak in sentences or be reliably understood by adults’.

Some 72 per cent of those surveyed have at least one child in their class who has ‘no idea’ how to use a book. 

Channel 4 News, which broadcast the research last night, was told by one teacher: ‘Many of the children now go to sleep with a story from Alexa rather than a parent.’

A survey found that families are relying on the virtual assistant to entertain their children – while some four and five-year-olds try to ‘swipe’ books as they are so addicted to mobile phones [File photo]