Share This Article
Young children are very aware of the attention they receive from their parents. Not surprising, because they need their parents’ attention to survive. But not only that, they also need this attention for their social and emotional development. Unfortunately, children receive less and less of their parents’ undivided attention; this attention is divided between the child and the telephone. Several studies show that parents actually cause harm to their children by being physically present, but distracted by their phone.
Study 1
Mothers who are on their phones have negative and less resilient children
In a study published in Devolopmental Science, babies and children aged 7 months to 2 years old were assessed for temperament, social skills and recovery after being disturbed. The researchers reported that children showed more stress and were less likely to explore their surroundings when their mothers used their phones.
The children, whose mothers also had the habit of spending a lot of time on their phones outside the lab, showed more negativity and poorer emotional recovery when their mothers finally turned off their phones. The researchers: “Like other forms of parental withdrawal and apathy, mobile phones can also have a negative impact on social-emotional functioning and interactions between parent and child.”
Study 2
Children feel unimportant and have to compete with telephones for their parents’ attention
In a large international study of 6,000 children aged 8 to 13 years, 32% of children reported feeling unimportant when their parents using their phones during meals, conversations and other family moments. The children reported that they felt as if they were competing with technology for their children’s attention. More than half of children surveyed said their parents spend too much time on their phones.
Also Read: 7 Ways We’re Holding Our Children Back From Being Successful Later in Life
Study 3
Distracted parents harm children’s emotional and social development
Another large study shows that distracted parents harm babies’ development. This mainly concerns the ability to process pleasure and to participate in social activities. This study used rats that were split into 2 groups: in one group, the baby rats were given what they needed from their mothers to develop properly. In the other group, the rats were raised by distracted mothers.
Also Read: Why and How I Teach My Introverted Children To Take Up Space
The researchers found that babies raised by distracted mothers ate less, played less and chased their peers less than the children of rats whose mothers were not distracted. The researchers conclude that fragmented and chaotic parental care interrupts brain development, which can lead to emotional problems later in life. “ We need predictability and continuity to properly develop our emotional system ,” they write. This research will now be followed up on humans.
Children grow best when they receive consistent, reliable, focused, and loving attention from their parents. Using your phone while with your child is a form of psychological withdrawal and unresponsiveness. Put your phone away when you are with your child, answer that urgent email or message and leave it at that!
P.S. Are you already following Gistinger.com on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter?