# Parents' own phone use

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

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

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.

- Area: Screens, phones and digital life
- Evidence: Evidence leans one way
- Best settled: Around the birth
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/screens-phones-and-digital-life--parents-own-phone-use

## Parents' own phone use: what are the options?

1. **Phone-free around the child**: You put your phone away whenever you are with the child.
2. **Phone-free zones and times**: Phones are put away in certain places and at certain times, such as meals.
3. **Mindful, no rules**: You try to be aware of your use without setting rules.
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:

- [HealthyChildren.org, updated June 2026](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/helping-kids-thrive-in-a-digital-world-AAP-policy-explained.aspx)
- [JAMA Pediatrics via PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12053794/)

## 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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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=screens-phones-and-digital-life&topic=screens-phones-and-digital-life--parents-own-phone-use