These days, cell phones play a vital role in our daily lives. More and more people from all walks of life would rather spend time on their cell phones than communicate with others. Nevertheless, the situation is more dire when it comes to parents. When parents use their cell phones instead of spending time with their children, some research shows that children are more likely to develop language delays and disorders. 

84-year-old Qian Youqiong is a well-known pediatrician in Chengdu, Sichuan province. Early in November 2013, Qian published an article appealing to parents to put away their cell phones and have more communication with their children. Two and half years later, the situation has only gotten worse.

Qian encounters three to four cases of children with language difficulties on a weekly basis. “I am worried the trend is going to rise with parents relying more and more on their cell phones,” he says.

One boy named Bobo came to Qian unable to even say “dad” at the age of 4. After ruling out other potential causes, a lack of language stimulation became the likely reason for Bobo’s delayed development. Qian found that Bobo’s parents both spend a great deal of time on their cell phones every day and rarely make efforts to talk to Bobo.

In order to avoid this problem, Qian urges parents to go out of their way to spend more time talking to and communicating with their children instead of on their cell phones, so that children are able to develop language skills at the proper time and pace.