Want your children to behave? Then put down that smartphone

CHILDREN behave worse when parents spend too much time on their smartphones, research suggests.

A study of 170 families looked at how often interactions were interrupted because mothers or fathers had turned to a smartphone, tablet or laptop.

Almost half of parents reported at least three technology interruptions on a typical day while talking to their children, while a quarter said it happened about twice. Parents rated behaviour by answering questions on how often their children got frustrated, whined, sulked, had tantrums or showed signs of hyperactivity or restlessness.

The research – by US academics at the University of Michigan and Illinois State University – found such episodes were more common among children whose parents admitted to using smartphones while talking to their children. Interruptions could be as simple as checking messages during mealtimes, playtime and routine activi- ties. Even relatively low levels of interruptions – such as checking texts while talking to children – were associated with greater child behaviour problems, such as oversensitivity, hot tempers, hyperactivity and whining.

Mothers were more likely than fathers to perceive that using devices at such times could trigger frustration among children, researchers said.

The study, published in Child Development, was observational and did not prove the interruptions were the cause of child frustrations, authors said. It was possible that some parents turned to their smartphones to “de-stress” because their children were misbehaving, it was suggested. But they urged parents to find times – such as mealtimes – where no family members were allowed to respond to distractions.

Dr Jenny Radesky, the senior author and a child behaviour expert and paediatrician at the University of Michigan, said: “It may not be realistic, nor is it necessary, to ban technology use altogether at home.

“But setting boundaries can help parents keep smartphones and other mobile technology from interrupting quality time. We know that parents’ responsiveness to their kids changes when they are using mobile technology and that their device use may be associated with less than ideal interactions with their children.”

She said it was difficult for parents to juggle attention between “important and attention-grabbing information” coming in via the devices with social and emotional information from their children and process both effectively.