Phone Use Reduced Mother-to-Infant Speech by 16 Percent: Study

Brief phone use, rather than phone use lasting at least seven minutes, resulted in even fewer words spoken per minute.

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Phone use may reduce mothers’ interactions with their infants, new research suggests.

The study, published on June 26 in Child Development, found that mothers spoke to their infants 16 percent less while using their cellphones. The finding raises questions about how technology may interfere with family time and children’s language acquisition.