Integrating Screens and Spoons: An Exploratory Study on Digital Technology's Influence on Parent-Child Interactions

Parent-child interactions during mealtime significantly influence social, emotional, and cognitive development in early childhood. Increasing parental use of digital technology has been linked to disruptions in these interactions, a phenomenon termed "technoference," which is associated with relational conflicts and psychosocial difficulties in children. Feeding interactions are particularly important for fostering attachment and emotional regulation, making them a vital area for studying technology's effects on parent-child dynamics.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of parental digital technology use during mealtime on the quality of feeding interactions and child dysregulation symptoms. Two groups were compared: mothers who used devices during mealtime (Technology Group, TG) and mothers who did not (Non-Technology Group, NTG).

Participants included mother-child dyads (TG) and a matched control group (NTG) (Ntot = 174), selected from a broader research project. Mother-child pairs were observed during a 20 min midday meal using the validated Italian Scala di Valutazione dell'Interazione Alimentare (SVIA). The emotional and behavioral functioning of children was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Statistical analyses included ANOVAs and post hoc tests.

The TG group demonstrated significantly higher scores on all SVIA subscales, indicating greater parental affective challenges, conflict, food refusal behaviors, and dyadic distress. Additionally, children in the TG group exhibited more internalizing and externalizing problems, including dysregulation symptoms on the CBCL, compared to the NTG group.

Parental technology use during mealtime negatively affects parent-child feeding interactions and increases dysregulation in children. These findings highlight the need for mindful parenting strategies to limit digital distractions and foster healthier family dynamics.