Fox 4: Kansas City women heal family problems caused by tech

By Loren Halifax, David Raziq

It is a common worry of today’s parents: Is my child addicted to their smart phone and the internet? Specialists say bad digital habits can ruin a child’s ability to socialize in person, to achieve in school, and make developmental problems even worse.

It’s no wonder so many adults try to get their kids off the phone. However, experts and researchers are finding that approach may not only backfire, but the problem may be how much time the parents are spending on their phones.

It turns out, often, the parents themselves were spending hours with their iPhone and that was sending the wrong message. Just ask Dr. Libby Milkovich, a developmental behavioral pediatrician and researcher at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

She specializes in the relationship between parents, children, and technology. Her interest in the subject had a personal beginning: At the time, she had just had a child herself.

“I was there at home with the baby,” said Milkovich, “checking my emails and patient messages.”

She said suddenly she realized something.

“That was interrupting that relationship development that I was having with my newborn infant,” Milkovich said.

She also realized that she probably wasn’t alone.

“So, I thought we should probably have some research around that,” Milkovich said.

See the full story via Fox 4

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