Busy Moms Only Devote 25% Of Attention To Kids When Distracted By Smartphones

Mothers who are constantly busy on devices like smartphones end up giving just 25 percent of their attention to toddlers, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

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For the study, researchers looked at toddlers (aged between two to three years old) and their mothers and asked them to do three tasks.

In the first task, they were asked to browse a specific Facebook page and like videos and articles that they found interesting. In the second task, they were asked to read a physical magazine and mark articles that interest them. In the third task, they tasked the mom to play with their child while their phone and magazine weren’t in the room, for an uninterrupted playtime.?

To get natural results, mothers weren’t told the purpose of the experiment.

According to Dr Borodkin, one of the lead researchers of the study, mothers talked up to four times less with their children while they were on their smartphones. They also had poorer quality of interactions as they would often offer generic responses instead of something more personalised and explicit.?

A similar experience was seen when they were reading a magazine -- the responsiveness of the mothers was a bare minimum to avoid a complete breakdown in communication with the toddler.?

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Dr Borodkin said, “We found that the three components of mother-child interaction were reduced by a factor of two to four relative to uninterrupted free play, both when the mother was reading printed magazines and browsing on her smartphone.”

She added, “It should be noted that we currently have no research evidence suggesting an actual effect on child development related to the parental use of smartphones, as this is a relatively new phenomenon. However, our findings indicate an adverse impact on the foundation of child development. The consequences of inadequate mother-child interaction can be far-reaching.”

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