Are you an attentive parent? Smartphone distraction can be dangerous

Research shows parents are distracted by smartphones while their kids play at playgrounds.

Cellphones have become most parents' and child caregivers' source of guilt for the lack of attention they give to their kids while at playgrounds, according to a study completed by researchers from the University of Washington.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - According to the study, 44 percent of the parents, nannies and adult babysitters surveyed expressed they felt guilty after not complying with their ideal vow not to use cellphones while watching over the kids during play time.

They were observed as less attentive to their kids and more focused on their phones, even if the children demanded their attention. However, this is not the case for when they are more focused with taking to friends and taking care of another child.

"Concerns on this topic are very prevalent, and a lot of people report feeling guilty about their own behaviors. But there's also a group who resents the idea that they should have to put their phones away when their child is safe and happily engaged in something else. There were strong opinions and very divergent opinions, for sure," said Alexis Hiniker, the study's lead author.

The research was presented during the Association for Computing Machinery's CHI 2015 conference in Seoul, Korea last month.

Researchers documented about 40 hours of interactions at playgrounds located in north Seattle, garnering data from 466 caregivers, according to the university's web post.

The observed prevalence is relatively low though, as the sighted phone use was not more than 10 seconds, with two-thirds of the caregivers spending less than 5 percent of their time on their phones.

"Phones do distract us and that's something to be aware of, but I think it's not nearly as bad as some people have made things out to be. Plenty of people are being really attentive parents and thinking deeply about these issues," said co-author Julie Kientz.

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