Nursery World - Young children’s behaviour affected by parents’ use of mobile devices

New research has found that children are more likely to display challenging behaviour when their parents are distracted by digital devices such as smartphones and tablets.

The US study of 170 families examined how often digital devices interrupt parent to child interactions – a phenomenon known as ‘technoference’, and whether this affects their child’s behaviour.

Almost half (48 per cent) of the parents in the study reported at least three daily incidents of technoference while engaged in an activity or conversation with their children, while a quarter said it happened about twice a day.

Parents then rated their child’s behaviour by answering questions about how often they 'whined, sulked, got frustrated, were oversensitive, restless or hyperactive and had hot tempers or temper tantrums'.

The researchers from the University of Michigan C.S Mott Children's Hospital and Illinois State University compared parents’ answers and found episodes of children’s challenging behaviour were more common among those parents who admitted to using digital devices while engaging with their children.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included