You probably do it every day- but experts warn that it harms your child’s development

You ask your child to put off the phone, concerned about the influence of too much time on their developing brain. But what if the problem is not only their habits, but yours?

New research suggests that it is not enough to simply limit the child’s screen time, but the way parents use technology around their children can affect the child’s cognitive development, emotional well -being, and even how much time the children themselves spend on the screens.

Many parents scroll their phones during a meal or play, often without thinking twice. But this seemingly harmless habit causes growing interference known as “phubbing” when technology interferes with face contact.

Because young children rely on parents’ comments and reactions to feel safe, discover their world and develop emotionally, when this connection is interrupted, they can quietly affect their healthy development, suggests researchers of the latest test Published in Jama Network Open.

Scientists evaluated over 6,000 studies on how parents use technology around their young children and further narrowed it, covering only studies focusing on healthy children from birth to about 5 years. In these studies, it was studied how the use of phones or other devices in front of the child, called the use of parental technology (PTU), can be associated with factors such as the child’s brain development, emotional health, motor skills, time on the screen, sleep and physical activity.

The discoveries revealed that when parents use technology around their young children, this is associated with lower cognitive development, higher internalization and externalizing behaviors and weaker attachment. The children also spent more time on the screens. The effects were consistent regardless of the type of technology used.

“The use of technology by parents in the presence of a child was negatively associated with cognitive and psychosocial results and sometimes on the screen among young children, although the size of the effects was small. Further studies focusing on the potential impact on physical activity, sleep and motor skills” – scientists came to the potential impact on the potential impact on physical activity, sleep and motor skills. “

Scientists emphasize that these discoveries do not mean that technological devices are “harmful by nature” because they can be useful tools for parents. However, managing how and when devices are used around children can help reduce possible negative effects. One of the useful approaches may be modern or concomitant devices with children, which were “positively related to cognitive results” in early childhood.