Small talk: Electronic media keeping kids from communicating with parents

It happens in many households. Kids are tapping on their cell phones or are preoccupied by their favorite TV show as their parents ask them a question or want them to do a chore. Unlike previous research that has relied on self-reports by parents tracking their children’s media usage, a new study used enhanced audio equipment to track the home environment of preschoolers as they interacted with parents in 2010 and 2011.