OUR love affair with the mobile phone is now even affecting the way we greet our children at the school gate, apparently.

One headmistress at a Middlesborough primary school is so concerned about parents waiting for their children being too engrossed in their mobiles to even say a hello to their offspring has put up signs saying “Greet your child with a smile, not a mobile.”

Not only do children pick up their social media habits from their parents but mums and dads need to interact with their children at the end of the school day to cement that special bond. Just a welcoming smile and a quick question “How was your day?” involves parents immediately in what is a very large part of a child’s life.

Just like adults, children need to be able to unload a little about the day’s events - even if it doesn’t seem very important.