Parents used to be the ones telling their children to put down their phones and pay attention. But now children are asking mum and dad to ditch their gadgets and spend more time with them.
Youngsters are fed up with their parents being digital hypocrites when it comes to their
smartphones and the internet, a study has found.
One bugbear is when parents answer work emails at the dinner table while telling them they can't play games on their phones. Children also think parents are setting a bad example by texting while driving, but telling them never to do so.
The study called on parents to practise what they preach and set digital limits that the whole family can stick to. Lead researcher Alexis Hiniker, a doctoral student in human design at the University of Washington in Seattle, said parents had to stick to the rules.
She said: 'Managing kids' technology use was once much easier for parents - they switched off the television when a show was over or kept an eye on kids as they used the family computer in the living room.
