Nearly Half of Canadian parents are concerned their children spend too much time on their screens.

That’s according to a new national public opinion survey by the Angus Reid Institute.

The study involved 2200 Canadian parents with children between the ages of two and 12.

The report finds that many parents are worried about the addictive potential of digital devices as well as their contribution to physical inactivity, among other negative developmental outcomes.

Another area of concern is the parents’ evaluations of their child’s well-being appear negatively correlated with their total screen time.

Dave Korzinski, Research Associate with Angus Reid says they also asked how often parents talk to their children about being careful online.

3/4 of parents who have kids between the 10 to 12 age group say they’ve had a discussion with their child about being careful, avoiding certain content and the things they need to be wary of. Along side that there are certainly discussions to be had about being careful on your phone and not giving your information to certain people.

The World Health Organization says children aged two to four should not be allowed more than one hour of “sedentary screen time” per day and infants less than one year old should not be exposed to electronic screens at all.

The United Nations agency says under-fives should also be physically active and get adequate sleep to help develop good lifelong habits and prevent obesity and other diseases in later life.