Worried About Your Kid’s Smartphone Use? Start Them On A Flip Phone, Plus More Advice

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Photo: Teens Smartphones - AP Photo
South Korean middle school students use their smartphones at a bus station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 15, 2015.

Young kids are spending more and more time in front of screens. Recent research clocks their daily usage at two hours, way up from just five minutes in 2011. As more households abandon landlines and the rise of tablets in schools and other environments, many children are getting their first smartphones at a younger age.

Pediatrics professor Michael Rich studies child media use and founded the Center on Media and Child Health at Harvard Medical School. Rich talked to Colorado Matters about the changing technology landscape and how it impacts families. He also offered a few pieces of advice to parents, including not using your phone as an alarm clock, starting kids out on flip phones and taking family technology "Sabbath days."