Parents who frequently use their phones or tablets around their children may be damaging their offspring's brains and sowing the seeds of mental health problems, data suggests.
Australian researchers analyzed data from 15,000 children under the age of five and found that those children who had parents who used technology in their presence performed poorly on tasks that required planning, organization, and concentration.
These children also had more difficulty with sharing and regulating their emotions.
While parents have long been warned to limit their children's screen time, new data suggests that parental screen time may have an equally negative effect.
The researchers said the harmful impact on children occurred regardless of whether the screen was distracting the parent from interacting with the child or not.
Writing about their findings in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, scientists from the University of Wollongong in New South Wales said that parental screen use leads to "fewer opportunities for children to engage in activities that promote cognitive development."
They added that feelings of neglect are likely to foster frustration and other negative emotions in children, as well as selfishness.
Previous studies have suggested that up to 70 percent of parents report using technology while playing or eating with their children, often several times a day.
For this report, scientists analyzed data from 21 studies on parents' use of technology.
One notable finding was that these children were at increased risk of experiencing negative emotions, such as those associated with depression and anxiety – for example, sadness, fear and worry.
"When parents frequently engage with screen devices in the presence of children, children's attempts to interact or seek attention may be met with delayed, dismissive, superficial, or even absent responses," the authors write.
Other data showed that these children were also more prone to outward outbursts of anger, impulsivity, and rule-breaking.
"Parents are children's first and most important teachers, and children's frustration can come from inconsistent responses," the authors added, GazetaExpress reports.
The researchers said their review was the first of its kind, and there are still unanswered questions about the impact of parents' technology use on children's development.
The authors said further studies should examine the time periods of parental technology use that are particularly harmful, as well as the type of digital activity that is most distracting.
“Regulating and controlling the use of devices near children can help mitigate potential negative effects,” they write.
The World Health Organization recommends that children under the age of two have no screen time at all.
Children aged two to four should have just one hour of screen time a day, the UN-backed organisation adds.
Children who spend too much time using screens are known to have a higher risk of a range of health and behavioral problems, from impaired vision to difficulties regulating emotions. /Express newspaper/