Experts warn parents: Put down smartphone, pay attention to child

Prolonged smartphone use by parents near their children can damage the parent-child relationship and lead to behavioral problems in children, according to a recent study. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa

How bad is it if parents play on their smartphones instead of watching their children make mud pies or encouraging them while they swing on the monkey bars? According to a new study, this type of behaviour damages the parent-child relationship and leads to behavioural problems in children. 

Without adequate affirmation or attention from their parents, children grow frustrated and hyperactive, according the study, published in the journal Paediatric Research. They sulk, they whine and throw tantrums, the researchers wrote in the recent study, which looked at 181 couples with children under the age of five.