Is Using Smartphones in Parenting Acceptable? ――The Impact of Parental "Phubbing" on Children Worldwide and the Practice of Digital Well-being

1. What is the Problem?—The Current State of Smartphones and Childcare

1-1 The Unprecedented "24-Hour Connection"

By 2025, the global smartphone penetration rate is about 76%. In OECD member countries, including Japan, 93% of the parent generation owns a smartphone. While accessing information during travel or nighttime breastfeeding is a significant benefit, there is increasing concern that the "small screen in hand" is taking away time for parent-child interaction.

1-2 What is "Phubbing"?

Phubbing is a portmanteau of "phone" and "snubbing," referring to the act of ignoring someone to focus on a smartphone. In an international comparative survey by the University of Michigan (2024), **68% of parents responded that they "immediately look at the screen when a notification comes, even when with their children."** Since infants learn emotions through eye contact and responsive speech exchanges, children feel stress when parents lower their gazepsychologytoday.com.

2. What Does Science Say?—A Review of Recent Research

2-1 Impact on Emotional Aspects

A longitudinal study targeting 10 cities in the US, China, and Europe (JAMA Network Open, 2024) reported that when parental technofeference increases, the depression scores of 12-year-olds rise by an average of 18% a year later, and aggressive behavior increases by 12%jamanetwork.com. Researchers point out that "the intermittent stress of diverted parental attention is the real issue."

2-2 Language and Cognitive Development

An observational study recording family dinners in eight countries (Family Dinners & Technology, 2024) found that in households where parents took out their smartphones during meals, the number of utterances by toddlers decreased by 36%. Vocabulary test scores one hour after the meal were also lower on averagetandfonline.com.

2-3 Academic Performance and Concentration

A survey by Seattle Children’s Research Institute (2025) found that smartphone use among middle and high school students reached an average of 90 minutes during class hours, and those with high screen dependency had their math and language grades drop by 0.4 to 0.6 points after one semesterseattlechildrens.org.

2-4 Vision, Sleep, and Obesity

The WHO warns that excessive screen viewing during infancy increases the risk of sleep deprivation, myopia, and obesity. It has been reported that nighttime blue light suppresses melatonin secretion, delaying sleep onsetwho.int.

3. Smartphones for Crying Children—The Reality Behind "Silence"

"During dining out, when a child starts crying, immediately playing a video to quiet them down"—a situation many parents experience.In the short term, it may become quiet, but a 2024 study in the American psychology journal 'Developmental Psychology' points out that **"the ability for self-regulation is not being developed."**

The opportunity for parents to act as "emotion coaches" through holding or speaking is taken away, leading to an increase in the frequency of tantrums according to psychologytoday.com.

4. Compare guidelines from various countries

All countries agree on emphasizing **"quality" and "parental involvement"** over "time," but it is commonly recommended to have almost zero screen time for children under two years old.

5. Positive Use of Smartphones—A Perspective to Avoid Making Them the "Villain"

1. Remote Childcare
   　In families with overseas assignments or single assignments, a domestic pilot study found that daily video calls with grandparents increased vocabulary.
   
   
   

2. Special Needs Education
   　An app for children with autism spectrum disorder to learn social turn-taking improved joint attention behavior by 44% when combined with face-to-face instruction.
   
   
   

3. Disaster Situations & Multicultural Families
   　Smartphones can often be a lifeline, such as in shelter management using translation apps and Japanese language acquisition support.
   
   

6. Seven Principles for Digital Well-being (Practice at Home)

1. Share a Family Media Plan on Paper (Who watches what, when)
   
   

2. Designate the Dining Table, Bedroom, and Bathroom as "Smartphone-Free Zones"
   
   

3. Zero Screen Time for Under 2s Except for Video Calls—First, hold them when they cry, then sing or read a picture book
   
   

4. **Position Screens as the "Last Resort to Quiet Them Down"**
   
   

5. Charge Devices in the Living Room After 8 PM—Parents Should Follow the Same Rule
   
   

6. Weekend "Analog 2-Hour Challenge"—Replace with Outdoor Play or Board Games
   
   

7. Use Screen Time Measurement Apps to Visualize Parents' Own Usage
   
   

7. Policy and Corporate Movements

• The EU Digital Services Act prohibits targeted advertising to those under 13 and demands a review of screen dependency design.

• Major SNS platforms like Meta, TikTok, and LINE have announced enhanced parental controls.

• In Japan, from April 2025, an amended School Health and Safety Act will allow municipalities to completely ban smartphones in elementary schools.
  
  

8. Conclusion—The Key is "Quality"

Simply taking away smartphones does not solve everything.
Children need time to make eye contact and converse with their parents more than screen time.

Technology brings learning and peace of mind only within the right framework. Try a "smartphone-free zone" at dinner tonight and listen to every word your child says.

Reference Article List

1. World Health Organization. Guidelines on Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep for Children Under 5 Years of Age (2019).

2. American Academy of Pediatrics. Screen Time Guidelines (2024).aap.org

3. Folkhälsomyndigheten. No screens before age of two (2024).theguardian.com

4. Catherine Vautrin, French Ministry of Health. Proposal to outlaw screens for under-threes (The Times, 2025-06-17).thetimes.co.uk

5. JAMA Network Open. Perceived Parental Technoference and Adolescent Mental Health (2024).jamanetwork.com

6. Psychology Today. Parental Phubbing Is a Powerful Form of Disregard (2025-06-15).psychologytoday.com

7. Family Dinners & Technology Study. Journal of Family Studies (2024).tandfonline.com

8. Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Teen Smartphone Use During School Hours (2025-02-04).seattlechildrens.org

9. Japan Pediatric Association. "Let's Create Time Away from Smartphones with Parents and Children" Leaflet (2024).jpa-web.org