Entertainment sites like BuzzFeed have come up with different reasons why you should put your phone down, but now it looks like checking your Facebook or updating Twitter in the presence of your child might not be a good idea. According to Parenting.com, a new study has just revealed that parents who spend a lot of time checking their phones while watching young children could end up raising kids with shorter attention spans!
The study, which was conducted by Indiana University and supported by National Institutes of Health, has found a connection between attention and social interaction. The research (via EurekAlert), which was led by IU professor Chen Yu, discovered that a parent's tendency to interact with their child during play affected how long the toddler is able to maintain attention.
"The ability of children to sustain attention is known as a strong indicator for later success in areas such as language acquisition, problem-solving and other key cognitive development milestones," Yu revealed before stating that it's also a good idea to always keep an eye on your child.
In addition to that, the IU professor stated that a guardian who doesn't pay attention to their ward is most likely to have a negative effect on the kids. "Caregivers who appear distracted or whose eyes wander a lot while their children play appear to negatively impact infants' burgeoning attention spans during a key stage of development," Yu added.
How Did It Work?
The researchers made use of head-mounted cameras on both the guardians and toddlers to get a first-hand look on where the participants were looking. Yu and study co-author Linda Smith discovered that the children who were being watched by caretakers who are easily distracted actually had a shorter attention span compared to the toddlers whose parents supported a child's interest in a certain toy.
The worst results came from caretakers who decide not to engage the toddler in any form of play. "When you've got a someone who isn't responsive to a child's behavior, it could be a real red flag for future problems," Yu said.
A Positive Note
The study also found that the best way to engage a toddler was to let them first find what they are interested in before jumping in to play. In this case, it would be best to put the phone away when you interact with your child and take some time to see what he wants to do with your time together.
