Life Kit How parents can be screen time role models
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Oct 23, 2025 Andee Tagle, a Life Kit reporter focused on parenting and screen-time, dives into how parents can shape their children's tech habits. She discusses the significant impact of parental phone use on kids, linking it to cognitive and emotional development. Andee offers practical advice, like creating no-device zones and engaging in family interactions without screens. She also examines the best ways to initiate conversations about tech use and the appropriate age for kids to get smartphones, while suggesting coordinated efforts among parents for healthier community norms.
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Parents Shape Kids' Tech Habits
- A parent's tech habits are the strongest predictor of a child's tech behavior.
- Children imitate parental phone use more than formal screen rules, so modeling matters more than lecturing.
Phone Snubbing Harms Emotional Development
- Frequent parental phone snubbing (fubbing) can impair children's emotional development.
- Repeated 'dead-eyed' responses reduce pro-social behavior and emotional skills in young children.
Narrate When You Must Use Tech
- Narrate unavoidable tech use to your child and give a clear end time.
- Explain the purpose briefly so kids know you aren't ignoring them on purpose.
