PLEASE! Get Off Your Phones!

 

*Author note: Please click on links to find sources.

It’s a pretty well-known fact that screentime is unhealthy for young children and should be limited. Studies are even starting to show that the use of tablets in classrooms is resulting in the “dumbing down” of students, resulting in lowered reading ability. Check out this link for more information. But, is adult screentime also damaging our children’s development?

It is becoming apparent that children of every age are struggling all over the world. They are falling behind academically, and their behavior is unbelievably challenging for teachers from ages 2 on up. Teachers are struggling to teach children who are combative. It is hard to teach children who refuse to listen or follow the simplest of directions. They disrupt everyone in the room, attempt to harm other children and their teachers, and destroy a learning environment by throwing toys, chairs, or whatever they can get their hands on, simply because they were told they needed to do something they did not want to do.

Teachers everywhere have been wondering why.

Smartphones and tablets may be to blame.

I am going to set aside the children’s use of screen time. Yes, in childcare, we are seeing children as young as one year of age with their own phones. As soon as they are picked up, they are handed a device. But, for this article, I am going to talk about parents’ use of devices.

From birth, we as parents are on our phones. It’s become an addiction for even the best of us. But, what are we missing when we are scrolling while feeding our babies, scrolling while rocking them to sleep, scrolling while they play on the floor or outside? We are missing important interactions that are greatly needed for the proper development of our children. Nothing on social media is more important than our children.

Seeing the way some children are acting in the daycare I work at puts me in mind of a developmental disorder called Child Attachment Disorder. Normally seen in children who have been severely neglected or abused, Child Attachment Disorder can develop when they aren’t properly bonded with their caregiver as a baby. “Normally, babies develop a close attachment bond with their main caregiver (usually their parents) within the first months of life. If they are in a situation where they do not receive normal love and care, they cannot develop this close bond.”

It seems as though some of the behavior issues we are experiencing in preschool and elementary school are a lesser form of CAD. Here are some behaviors I have seen at the daycare I work at, which are from a list of examples from the article linked above.

·         The baby cries inconsolably.

       
The baby or child does not seem to be upset in situations where you might expect them to be upset.

·         The child does not play with toys or engage in interactive games with others.

·         The child has difficult, aggressive behavior towards other children or adults.

·         The child is very withdrawn and does not interact with other children or adults.

·         The child is anxious, fearful, or depressed.

·         The child is unable to control his/her temper or anger.

·         The child is not getting on very well at school.

·         The child is inappropriately friendly to children or adults they don't know.

·         The child may hug people they don't know, or in inappropriate situations (a doctor or teacher, for example).

·         The child has no wariness of strangers. The child may go off with somebody they don't know without checking with their parent(s) or caregiver.

Parents are ignoring their infants and children too much to feed their smartphone addictions.

Responsive, attentive parents - for children from birth to adulthood – are vital for their development. Giving what is called “Serve and Return” is critical for developing infants, and positive interactions are critical for children of all ages.

From the article linked above:

“Serve and return interactions—responsive, back-and-forth exchanges between a young child and a caring adult—play a key role in shaping brain architecture.

These interactions, much like a lively game of tennis, form a critical part of a child’s social environment and are crucial for early development.

They support development of early language and social skills that serve as a foundation for more complex, high-level cognitive abilities that form later in life.”

From Newsweek, May 5, 2025:

“A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that when parents use technology in the presence of their young children—a behavior researchers call "parental technology use" (PTU)—it may be harming key aspects of kids' health and development.

The meta-analysis, which combined data from 21 studies across 10 countries and included nearly 15,000 participants, revealed consistent associations between PTU and negative outcomes in children under the age of five.

These include poorer cognitive development, increased behavioral and emotional problems, weaker attachment to parents and higher screen time in children themselves.”

We teachers are begging you! GET OFF YOUR PHONES AND GIVE YOUR INFANTS AND CHILDREN ATTENTION! They desperately need you to be present so they can have healthy development and a bright and happy future!