Survey suggests parents are spending too much time on smartphones

Smartphones are an easy way to check email, texts and social media, but did you know all that screen time has an impact on your children?

Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a clinical psychologist and Harvard researcher, says the psychological impact is clear.

“Children of all ages use the same adjectives to describe how they feel when they are competing with screens for their parent’s attention,” said Steiner-Adair. “Angry, sad, frustrating, and lonely.”

A recent international study confirms her findings. Online security company AVG found a third of children say their parents spend as much or more time with their devices than them. The survey found more than half of kids feel their parents check their devices too often,  and a third say they feel unimportant when their parents are distracted by their phones.

Psychologists point out, parents looking at their screens often respond more harshly to kids. But psychology aside, they say technology can be downright dangerous.

“We’ve seen about a 22 percent spike in preventable accidents with young children and caretakers using their digital devices,” said Steiner-Adair.

A sobering statistic that may convince some parents to limit their screen time so their kids can do as they say, and not as they do.

Psychologists also say it’s important to put the phone away during family time like dinner and family outings.