Most parents admit that their smartphone use interferes with interactions with their kids New research suggests that this parental 'technoference' in the home is tied to adolescents becoming more anxious, inattentive and hyperactive In some cases, a child's behavioral issues could drive parents to their smartphones as an escape FRIDAY, Aug. 16, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- A child at the dinner table talks about trouble at school or an argument with a friend, but parents aren't listening: They're checking their smartphones instead. It's a scenario that plays out millions of times per day across America, and it could be harming the mental health of children, a new study suggests.
Kids ages 9 to 11 who said their parents spent way too much on their smartphones were more prone to anxiety, attention issues and hyperactivity later on compared to the youngsters of parents who weren't phone-obsessed, Canadian researchers report. "When children's emotional and physical needs are consistently ignored or inappropriately responded to, they are at risk of developing mental health difficulties," explained a team led by Sheri Madigan , an associate professor of psychology at the University of Calgary in Alberta. Her team published their findings Aug.
16 in the journal JAMA Network Open . According to background data from the study, one recent study found that parents of infants now spend an average of more than five hours on their smartphones daily, including looking at a smartphone 27% of the.