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Parents' own phone use

How you use your own phones around your child: phone-free time with them, set zones and times, or no particular rules.

How much should we use our own phones around our child?

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Phone-free around the child; Phone-free zones and times; Mindful, no rules; No change. Evidence: evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. Best settled: around the birth.

Evidence
Evidence leans one way
Best settled
Around the birth
Part of
Learning & the wider world

Parents' own phone use: what are the options?

Parents usually land on one of these 4 approaches.

  1. 1. Phone-free around the child

    You put your phone away whenever you are with the child.

  2. 2. Phone-free zones and times

    Phones are put away in certain places and at certain times, such as meals.

  3. 3. Mindful, no rules

    You try to be aware of your use without setting rules.

  4. 4. No change

    You use your phone as you do now.

Parents' own phone use: what does the evidence say?

Evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. (Leans (small))

Parental device use around under-5s is associated with slightly poorer cognition and more behavior problems; small effects; the AAP's 2026 parent guidance advises putting your own phone down during meals and bedtime

Sources

What else is worth knowing?

A parent absorbed in a phone responds less to a child, and children copy what they see. This is about your own habits, not the child's. It is easier to change before the baby arrives.

Questions to ask each other

  • How much do we use our phones around the baby and child?
  • What phone-free moments would we protect, such as meals and bedtime?
  • How do we remind each other kindly?

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First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.