The Government's childhood tsar been raising concerns after a recent survey revealed British parents are talking to their children far less than their European counterparts.
Speaking to the Independent he said: "It does worry me that the amount of time that parents spend with children in the UK is also one of the relatively lower ones within Europe.
"I wonder if we are leaving children too much to their own devices as opposed to spending time with them, and therefore screens take over."
The survey by Unicef found many families in the UK don't have a dining or kitchen table and therefore eat meals around the television.
Those living in Spain and Sweden were much more likely to sit at a table and as a result spend more time talking to each other.
Mr Bailey said: "I think it perhaps tells you something about the amount of face-to-face time which is spent in British families.
"People talk sometimes about 'quality time', and actually I think most children don't really need quality time.
"They need you to be there to talk informally all the time."
Reg Bailey has advised the Government on issues of child sexualisation and commercialisation and recently conducted a review on the issue.