Phone-addict parents raise naughty children
Parents’ excessive use of mobile phones has been linked to behavioural problems in children. American research found 40 per cent of the mothers and 32 per cent of the fathers admitted to some form of phone addiction, interfering in their relationships with their children.
PARENTS’ excessive use of mobile phones has been linked to an increase in children’s behaviour problems, according to a new study.
The research involving almost 200 families found that children whose parents were addicted to their phones were significantly more likely to have behaviour problems.
Some 40 per cent of the mothers and 32 per cent of the fathers admitted some form of phone addiction such as being unable to resist checking messages, always thinking about incoming calls or texts, or simply feeling they used it too much.
This led to what the researchers described as “technoference” in their relationships with their children, where their everyday interactions were interrupted by digital or mobile devices, whether during face-to-face conversations or at meal or play times.
Over the six months of the study, almost half the families reported such “technoference” happening at least three times a day, with 24 per cent saying it occurred twice a day and 17 per cent at least once. Only 11 per cent claimed to have no such interruptions.
The researchers found poor behaviour in the children was more closely linked to their mothers’ phone usage rather than their fathers’. This could be because the children spent more time with their mothers.
The more often parents reported experiencing “technoference”, the more behaviour problems their children displayed. These ranged from sulking, whining and displaying easily hurt feelings to hyperactivity, tantrums and becoming easily frustrated.
In interviews, the parents told the researchers from Illinois State University and University of Michigan Medical School that they found it hard to multi-task between their children and mobile devices. They found it more difficult to read and respond to child cues and to manage difficult behaviour.
The study was published as Manchester becomes the first authority in the UK to launch a public health campaign to tackle the breakdown in communication between parents and children caused by smartphones and other digital technology. Health chiefs say children’s speech and language development is under threat from parents spending too long on mobile phones or being distracted by listening to digital devices on headphones.
“You go around Manchester and Salford and see unbelievable attempts by children to communicate with the adult they are with, but who is oblivious to them because they have headphones on. I find it very distressing,” said Michelle Morris, one of Britain’s leading speech and language therapists and a consultant at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.
The campaign will include nudgestyle “texts” to parents suggesting how and when they could talk to their children, such as at bath time; advice on when to put down mobiles, whether at meal times or before going to bed; as well as training for health visitors to provide guidance to families.