The parents of today are pressured to keep up with a fast-paced lifestyle, balancing work, home, and personal well-being. Technology in the form of smartphones or tablets tools for parents to communicate with others quickly and even serve as an accessible source of news and entertainment for them. However, excessive use of these gadgets can hinder the interactions between parents and their kids, creating a barrier between two sides. 

When there are distractions that can interrupt communication between parent and child, these can lead to delay in a child’s development in communication skills. Children are natural mirrors, and adopt screen habits they observe in their parents. In short,  a child’s speech and language development is heavily influenced by communication that occurs within the home, which is why it is important for parents to spend quality time with their children to reinforce effective communication. 

A way to focus more on this is by engaging in screen-free activities and creating media plans to monitor media consumption for both, such as limiting the hours of gadget use among family members. From time-to-time, parents must also plan bonding times with their children where they can participate in offline activities and outings together that encourage face-to-face communication, reinforcing important parts of conversation such as nonverbal and verbal communication between parent and child.

Children are also incredibly sensitive to their parents’ emotional availability. They can recognize emotions and relay them. This is another reason for parents to be extra attentive to their children’s emotions, especially if they are still quite young. Being able to put aside a phone to listen or interact with their child is important to them, and can be a habit that they can mirror even outside the home. By doing this, parents can also avoid missing out on something that their child would like to convey to them. 

Finding time to properly talk to and interact with a child as a parent is crucial. Although at times it might be difficult to put the phone down, parents should be able to plan their own screen times and dedicate time for their child to create a healthier environment for their child to grow up in and thrive.

References:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-024-03243-y#Sec19

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Parents-of-Young-Children-Put-Down-Your-Smartphones.aspx

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/07/nx-s1-5564069/healthier-screen-time-habits-parents-adults