[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

IM-

Do you actually have anything to add?

Parents’ excessive use of mobile phones has been linked to increasing children’s behaviour problems in the world’s first study of its kind.

The research involving almost 200 families found that children whose parents were addicted to their phones were significantly more likely to have behaviour problems.

Some 40 per cent of the mothers and 32 per cent of the fathers admitted some form of phone addiction such as being unable to resist checking messages, always thinking about incoming calls or texts or simply feeling they used it too much.

This led to what the researchers dubbed “technoference” in their relationships with their children where their everyday interactions were interrupted by digital or mobile devices whether during face-to-face conversations or at meal or play times.

Over the six months of the study almost half the families reported such “technoference” happening at least three times a day, 24 per cent said it occurred twice a day and 17 per cent at least once. Only 11 per cent claimed to have no such interruptions.

The researchers found poor behaviour in the children was more closely linked to their mothers’ phone usage rather than the fathers’. This could be explained by the fact the children spent more time with their mothers who had fewer work commitments.

The more often parents reported experiencing technoference, the more behaviour problems they rated their children as displaying. These ranged from sulking, whining and displaying easily hurt feelings to hyperactivity, temper tantrums and becoming easily frustrated.

In interviews, the parents told the researchers, from Illinois State University and University of Michigan Medical School, they found it hard to multi-task between their children and mobile devices, making it more difficult to read and respond to child cues and to manage difficult behaviour.

Previous research by Dr Jenny Radesky, of Michigan University’s medical school, based on videos of 225 couples during meals, showed a significant decline in the quality of interactions between children and their mother when she had her phone out.

There was a fall of 20 per cent in verbal interactions, a 39 per cent drop in non-verbal communication and a 28 per cent decline in the mothers encouraging their children.

It was the same when she and her team observed parents on their phones at a fast food restaurant for another project: “Time and again we saw less conversation during parents’ tech use. They took longer to respond to their children and there was more conflict with the parents raising their voice, shoving children away and the children trying to escalate their behaviour.”

She said they could not rule out the possibility that parents used the technology to cope with the stress of dealing with their children. “In qualitative interviews, many stay-at-home mothers reported using digital technology as a way to ‘escape’ the boredom or frustrations of childrearing, or to regulate their own emotions,” she said.

The research has emerged as Manchester is to become the first authority in the UK to launch a public health campaign to tackle the breakdown in communication between parents and children caused by smart phones and other digital technology.

Health chiefs say children's speech and language development is under threat from parents spending too long on their mobile phones or being distracted by listening to digital devices on their headphones.

"You go around Manchester and Salford and see unbelievable attempts by children to communicate with the adult they are with but who is oblivious to them because they have headphones on. I find it very distressing," said Michelle Morris, one of Britain's leading speech and language therapists and a consultant at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.

“If you are walking down a street and listening to music, you can’t really pay attention to what your child is doing. Unless the child says something very loudly or pulls on the adult, there’s no chance to communicate.

“The attempt to communicate goes unrewarded and the child could, in time, learn that there’s no point in talking. For little children, it is these multiple interactions with an adult through which it learns language and how to speak.”

The campaign will include nudge-style “texts” to parents suggesting how and when they could talk to their children such as at bath time, advice on when to ditch mobiles whether at meal-times or before going to bed as well as training for health visitors to provide guidance to families.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...g-behavioural/

To throw in some anecdotal, I work in a school for behaviour problems, and most of those who aren't (currently) diagnosed with ASD or similar often complain about their parents doing this.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Do you actually have anything to add?

To your simplistic and ridiculous "comments"? Nope. Not a thing.

[Toy Soldier]

To be fair he's not incorrect, social media is a huge contributor to the increase in child and adolescent mental health problems and emotionally absent parents are another big factor - although, I'd say that there are parenting issues (such as addiction) that are far more pressing than "looking at their phone too much".

I also personally don't think we can overlook the fact that the world just isn't a particularly welcoming or friendly place right now... not sure why we're so baffled that kids are growing up unhappy?

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

To your simplistic and ridiculous "comments"? Nope. Not a thing.

So I post an article to back up my thoughts, and it's just "ridiculous comments"? But you can't explain why? Fair enough.

[Marsh.]

Oh, he's not wrong in terms of contributing factors. Just he has a "thing" about this epidemic of parents replacing their children with phones. It's bordering on offensive and entirely ignorant of actually deep rooted issues.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

So I post an article to back up my thoughts, and it's just "ridiculous comments"? But you can't explain why? Fair enough.

If you need me to explain why saying "Parents go on their phone too much" in response to a child mental health issue is ridiculous there's nothing I can do for you I'm afraid.

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Oh, he's not wrong in terms of contributing factors. Just he has a "thing" about this epidemic of parents replacing their children with phones. It's bordering on offensive and entirely ignorant of actually deep rooted issues.

True, even when it does happen on a "chronic level" it's not like the parent just got a bit too fond of flappy bird. If someone is so glued to their phone that it's socially problematic, it's because they have an issue of their own... the inattentiveness is a symptom of the issue but not the issue itself.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

True, even when it does happen on a "chronic level" it's not like the parent just got a bit too fond of flappy bird. If someone is so glued to their phone that it's socially problematic, it's because they have an issue of their own... the inattentiveness is a symptom of the issue but not the issue itself.

Exactly. It's the modern day equivalent of blaming video games IMO.

Just demonises a section of people as materialistic and uncaring and not actually addressing the real reasons (ie. their own mental health problems).

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Did you just use the "word" mansplain? Dear god

You asked if it was terminal, I told you the mortality rate

Who are you to tell me anything... where did you get your mortality rates?

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Who are you to tell me anything...

where did you get your mortality rates?

https://www.mirasol.net/learning-cen...statistics.php

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

https://www.mirasol.net/learning-cen...statistics.php

This is a private facility in America... How is this accurate or relevant here?

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

This is a private facility in America... How is this accurate or relevant here?

If you have a better source I'd love to see it

Either way, it shows that without treatment the mortality rate is 1/5(!!) and drops to a tenth of that with treatment, so I'd say it's a pretty good argument in providing the service.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

If you need me to explain why saying "Parents go on their phone too much" in response to a child mental health issue is ridiculous there's nothing I can do for you I'm afraid.

Originally Posted by Marsh.

Exactly. It's the modern day equivalent of blaming video games IMO.

Just demonises a section of people as materialistic and uncaring and not actually addressing the real reasons (ie. their own mental health problems).

At no point did I say every parent who excessively uses their phone is being neglectful and/or causing their kids' problems; nor did I say every child with behavioural or other problems were caused by phone use. I was clearly theorising that in some cases, that was a possible cause.

Along with cyberbullying and "instagram culture"

Or just maybe the rise of both social media and mental health issues is just a coincidence...

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

If you have a better source I'd love to see it

Either way, it shows that without treatment the mortality rate is 1/5(!!) and drops to a tenth of that with treatment, so I'd say it's a pretty good argument in providing the service.

As a matter of fact I do..
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rates among psychiatric disorders.*(10)

Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder in adolescence.*(11)

Of those surviving, 50% recover, whereas 30% improve and 20% remain chronically ill.*(12)

http://www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/about/statistics

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

As a matter of fact I do..
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rates among psychiatric disorders.*(10)

Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder in adolescence.*(11)

Of those surviving, 50% recover, whereas 30% improve and 20% remain chronically ill.*(12)

http://www.anorexiabulimiacare.org.uk/about/statistics

Doesn't contradict what I said my source said the mortality rate of anorexia is 1/5, you didn't quote any mortality rate.

[Niamh.]

Deleted some posts in here, please stop getting personal and insulting each other, you can disagree with each others points without doing that

[James]

The story in the original post doesn't surprise me because a main priority in health spending is care for the elderly. If you look at the figures from the last 20 years mortality rates have gone down, and it means that they are dealing with more chronic conditions in an ageing population.

Also when this topic came up on the forum recently I suggested private mental health therapy was something worth looking into if you need it.

[Twosugars]

Originally Posted by James

The story in the original post doesn't surprise me because a main priority in health spending is care for the elderly. If you look at the figures from the last 20 years mortality rates have gone down, and it means that they are dealing with more chronic conditions in an ageing population.

Also when this topic came up on the forum recently I suggested private mental health therapy was something worth looking into if you need it.

The cons taking care of their aging electorate, nothing new there
They have nothing to offer to the young but high house prices, gig economy and paid higher education
If only the young voted as religiously as the old...but they don't

But whichever way you look at it less beds in mental health than 10 years ago is a crime. The less said about availability of therapy sessions the better.

Private care is for the rich, not as an option for all bc nhs has been brought to its knees

[LeatherTrumpet]

Originally Posted by Twosugars

The cons taking care of their aging electorate, nothing new there
They have nothing to offer to the young but high house prices, gig economy and paid higher education
If only the young voted as religiously as the old...but they don't

But whichever way you look at it less beds in mental health than 10 years ago is a crime. The less said about availability of therapy sessions the better.

Private care is for the rich, not as an option for all bc nhs has been brought to its knees

The NHS is not "on its knees" as that is a fake news twitter line that the British electorate did not believe and voted against extreme left wing people who trotted that out a lot during the election.

People can judge the NHS by their use of it and did hence the reason labour's awful "NHS" tactic just backfired on them to the point where they are now at sixes and sevens with no leader and no real vision

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Doesn't contradict what I said my source said the mortality rate of anorexia is 1/5, you didn't quote any mortality rate.

I posted some information relevant to the UK, no matter... let's go with your 'stats' that show that 1 in 5 people with anorexia die.
Therefore in those cases anorexia is teminal, which proves my original point.

[Oliver_W]

I will admit I go private for my mental health, but that's not at the recommendation of my GP or anything, just with everything else I have going on health-wise and my line of work, I think it best.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

I posted some information relevant to the UK, no matter... let's go with your 'stats' that show that 1 in 5 people with anorexia die.
Therefore in those cases anorexia is teminal, which proves my original point.

I was actually agreeing with you I absolutely think it should be treated quickly as possible.

[parmnion]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

The NHS is not "on its knees" as that is a fake news twitter line that the British electorate did not believe and voted against extreme left wing people who trotted that out a lot during the election.

People can judge the NHS by their use of it and did hence the reason labour's awful "NHS" tactic just backfired on them to the point where they are now at sixes and sevens with no leader and no real vision