New research suggests that parents and caregivers may be more inclined to play with smartphones and mobile devices during meals than observing the children they're tasked with supervising.
A research team lead by Dr. Jenny Radesky of the Boston Medical Center analyzed the mobile device usage habits of adults in a series of fast food restaurants, finding that around 40 percent of supervising adults used their devices 'almost continuously' throughout the duration of the meal.
The findings prove somewhat worrying, with Radetsky and her colleagues noting that decreased face-to-face time between parents and children can adversely impact the cognitive, linguistic, and emotional development of the child. "If we're getting in the habit of always taking the devices out - a lull or a daily routine that's starting to be a bit boring - we can be missing quality interaction time with our kids," said Dr. Radesky. The study also points to increased access to mobile devices enhancing a child's ability and inclinction to watch television and play video games.
Researchers observed 55 different meals in 15 Boston fast-food restaurants, taking notes while sitting at a nearby table. Of the 55 meals, 40 were found to involve a mobile device. The remaining 15 did not, though an additional three parents had devices though didn't use them during the course of the meal. Each of the meals was shared with one to three children, and around 60 percent of the meals was supervised by a single adult.
With a lack of conversation and attention directed to them, the children often entertained themselves - in one case, singing a Batman-specific version of 'Jingle Bells.' "Sometimes the caregivers weren't able to handle it and they lost their cool," Radesky said. "Those were the minority of the families that we observed," she added. "Overall, we didn't do this study with the intent of being critical or to say that you shouldn't use the devices."
While the research didn't draw firm conclusions about the relationship between parents' use of mobile devices and children's development - nor did it produce statistics on the rates of device usage - Radesky nonetheless points to its value as a preliminary study, pointing the scientists in the right direction for future research.
The study, titled Patterns of Mobile Device Use by Caregivers and Children During Meals in Fast Food Restaurants, was published in Pediatrics on March 10 2014.
