The kids are alright, but mom and dad need a digital detox! HALF of all teens say parents are too often distracted by their phones

Hey, mom and dad! Pay attention!

Nearly half of teens say their parents are way too distracted by their cell phones, with 8 percent saying it happens 'often,' according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. 

The view differs from adults where only 31 percent admitted to being frequently distracted by their phones. 

The finding show the gap between parents and kids with many more teens feeling their parent's face in their phone. The kids' feeling was recently highlighted in a Knoxville TV news report - where kids tattled on their parents. 

'My mommy just texts on her phone last night. I went and said "hello," but she didn't even answer me,' one young girl said. 

Nearly half of teens in a recent survey say their parents are way too distracted by their cell phones, with 8 percent saying it happens 'often' 

The kids' reports were in seemingly good fun as parents laughed at the response, but highlight the issue that now half of kids see with their caregivers.   

'They're on a call and you try to get their attention and then they yell at you,' one of the boys in front of his agreeing father in the report from WBIR Channel 10. 

Another child ratted out their dad for texting while driving, while others described feeling neglected by a phone-focused parent. 

'It makes me feel sad because they're ignoring me and I don't like when they ignore me,' another girl told the news report. 

Distracted parents on their phones is hardly a new phenomenon with news reports dating back a decade discuss the problem. However, in 2017, Dr. Perry Klass wrote in the New York Times about why parents should not feeling guilty about spending time on the phone. 

'We don’t always like to admit it, but taking care of small children is often quite tedious. When my three children were small, I wouldn’t have made it through without a certain amount of distraction,' she wrote. 

She recounted how she raised her kids before the time of smartphones. While there was no phone, there were plenty of distractions. She would frequently look at the newspaper while at the table with the kids or pull out a book while at the park. 

She also implored parents not to be so distracted that they ignore their child, but that a little screen time isn't the worst thing. In fact, she contended, it can serve a healthy purpose. 

'It’s a huge source of humor and stress relief and connection to work,' Dr. Jenny Radesky, a developmental behavioral pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan told Klass. 'Technology is a tool; it’s how you use it.'

The kids' feeling was recently highlighted in a Knoxville TV news report - where kids tattled on their parents and their cell phone use. The kids provided stories of not being able to get their parent's attention because of cell phone use

The kids' view differs from adults where only 31 percent admitted to being frequently distracted by their phones 

The results were part of a larger Pew Research Center survey on phone use by teens and adults. many teens reported feeling 'happy' or 'peaceful' when they have their phone 

The findings of the Pew survey were part of a broader look at cell phone use by kids and parents.  

Pew found that about 72 percent of teenagers feel peaceful when they don't have their phones. However, 44 percent of survey takers feel anxious while they're phoneless.

According to the survey, 31 percent of parents said that they are sometimes or often distracted by their own phones, while 46 percent of teenagers indicated that this is regular behavior.   

'One thing that’s important to note is that screen time isn’t just a teen issue. It’s a family issue,' said Colleen McClain, a Pew research associate and lead researcher for the survey. 

Roughly 47 percent of parents who took the survey said that they spend 'too much time on their smart phone.' The survey also found higher usage of phone in higher-income houses. 

The survey revealed that 50 percent of parents with an 'annual household incomes of $75,000 or more say they spend too much time on their phone.'

 However, only 38 percent of adults in households earning $30,000 or less say they spend too much time on their phones.