Care for the Family was speaking after the Child Accident Prevention Trust polled 1,000 parents and found that some parents are so obsessed with checking their smartphones that children are at risk of harm.
The stats:
- The average person looks at their phone an incredible 46 times a day
- 1 in 4 parents, 24%, admit their child has had an accident or near miss when they have been on their mobile phone
- 69% of parents admit to being distracted by their mobile phone
- 77% of parents say they usually check texts and posts as soon as they come in
- Almost 15% of children suffering an accident or near miss while on their own mobile phones
Katherine Hill from Care for the Family told Premier it is easy to see how a quarter of parents get distracted by their phones.
She said: "It is quite shocking isn't it, to think one in four - it's quite a lot.
"But you can see how it can easily, easily happen, but you can see how - as adults we're often walking along the road head down, and we'll bump into a lamp post or something."
The research found that more than three quarters of parents check their phones as soon as they get a text.
Katherine Hill went on to say that the temptation to check our phones is overwhelming: "The first thing I want to do is check what that ping is, is it someone that needs me, is it somebody on Twitter?
"But I think we have to put boundaries in place, particularly as parents in the home, because if we're always on our phones we're not going to be able to give our children that one-to-one attention."
Care for the Family was speaking during Child Safety Week 2016.
The week is designed to encourage parents to remove themselves from technology and prevent accidents.
Research shows that nearly a quarter of parents say their child has had an accident or near miss when they have been engrossed in their mobile phone.
Katherine Hill told Premier that parents set an example for their children: "Just a few ground rules about when and where it's good to be able use technology in the house and I think as parents we forget we're modelling that.
"So if we're always on our phones then our children are going to pick that up."
How parents use their mobile phones has an effect on children according to the report.
Almost 15% of children have suffered an accident or near miss, such as stepping out onto the road without looking while on their own mobile phones.
Listen to Premier's Hannah Tooley speak to Katherine Hill here:
