“Shocking Discovery: Your Phone Addiction Could Be Silently Sabotaging Your Child’s Future!”

Seeking to reduce your child’s screen time? The solution might lie in cutting back your own technology usage.

A 2023 study revealed that “parents’ phone use in front of their children can negatively impact emotional intelligence development.”

According to Robin Nabi, a professor of communication at UC Santa Barbara, “Emotional intelligence encompasses a set of mental abilities that enable individuals to recognize, comprehend, and manage their emotional states. While people are born with a certain capacity for emotional intelligence, it’s also a skill set that can be learned, practiced, and developed, varying from person to person,” as reported by The Current.

“Some individuals excel at detecting emotional nuances in themselves and others, while some struggle. At a more advanced level, certain people are adept at regulating their emotions – such as anxiety or anger – while others find it challenging,” she added.

Nabi further explained that the way parents “express, reflect, and discuss emotions” with their children significantly influences the development of their emotional intelligence.

Furthermore, as Familyguide previously noted, screen time is associated with “slower language development. Researchers currently theorize that this correlation exists because increased screen time results in less face-to-face interaction with adults, which is crucial for developing key language skills like grammar and vocabulary.”

When parents are engrossed in their phones, “the child perceives a lack of responsiveness.”

A Verizon study proposes these three strategies to limit your screen time:

1. “Evaluate your own screen-time habits.” This involves “Relocating distracting apps from your phone…Considering where you keep your phone…[and] Scheduling regular tech reviews.”

2. “Allocate time to disable notifications and alerts.”

Julianna Miner, author of “Raising a Screen Smart Kid,” states that frequent phone calls, texts, and push notifications can create the impression that our devices constantly demand our attention. “Technology use is like any other learned behavior, and parents play a crucial role in establishing what children will consider normal,” she says. Miner notes that our children observe how quickly we respond to alerts, but with some effort and attention, these alerts can be reduced to only the essential ones—freeing up more time to be present with our children.

3. “Discuss your tech health as much as you discuss theirs,” meaning you should “Talk about how technology affects you…[and] Explain to your children what you’re doing on your phone.”

“The key message is for parents to be more conscious of how frequently they use their phones around their children,” Nabi stated. “Where their attention is focused sends a signal to their children about what’s important.”