Multi-tasking parents are taking care of kids and hobnobbing with their smart phones at the same time. WE ASK: Is it good for kids if parents are constantly putting them off for their phones?
Parents are high-tech jugglers these days, managing kids, family life and … smartphones. But our 21st century habits might not be so smart, say researchers from Stanford University. According to the study, “Media Multitaskers Pay Mental Price,” people who regularly try to handle several streams of electronic information while trying to do something else — like manage little Sophie and Jack — are distracted, and simply cannot pay attention as well as those who do one task at a time. Add addiction to the smartphone mix — described as something that becomes powerful and important enough for a person not to want to stop even though there are negative consequences — and you have one severe case of distracted parenting.
This can’t be good. While we don’t yet know the long-term results of our high-tech neediness — for parents or children — anything that cuts Mom or Dad off from true connectedness with their children can’t be a positive … can it?