What should you do if your child is addicted to their phone?

It usually starts with a small moment. You ask a question three times and get no answer. The phone comes to the dinner table, then to bed. A request to put it down produces a reaction out of all proportion. And somewhere in there, the word “addicted” arrives. It is an understandable word to reach for. It is also not quite the right one, and the difference changes what helps. (This is general information, not medical advice.)

This page is for parents. For the evidence on whether phone addiction is a real condition, see is phone addiction real? For a self-check aimed at adults, see signs of phone addiction.

Can a child really be addicted to their phone?

No, not as a diagnosis, but yes, as a real problem. “Phone addiction” does not appear in DSM-5-TR or ICD-11. Researchers talk about problematic smartphone use instead, and a 2019 review of 41 studies covering 41,871 children and young people found it in a median 23.3%, roughly one in four.^[3] The caveat: the studies used varied measures, and most were snapshots, so they cannot say whether the phone use caused the problems it was linked with.

Those links are worth knowing, though. Problematic use was associated with higher odds of depression, anxiety, stress and poor sleep.^[3] For a parent, the practical message is to watch the child, not just the screen.

How many UK children feel hooked on their phones?

37% of 8 to 17-year-olds told Ofcom they think they spend too much time on screens, rising to 44% of 16 to 17-year-olds.^[2] The caveat is that “too much time on screens” is not the same as addiction. But it shows that many children share their parents’ unease, and that matters, because it means you may have an ally.

Parents are more worried still. In the same 2026 report, 55% of parents of 8 to 17-year-olds said their child’s screen time was too high, and 32% of parents overall said they found it hard to control. That rose to 41% of parents of 13 to 15-year-olds and 49% of parents of 16 to 17-year-olds.^[2] In Ofcom’s in-depth interviews, some children described themselves as “addicted” to particular social media platforms.

The timing is striking. Phone ownership jumps from 56% of 10-year-olds to 83% of 11-year-olds, around the move to secondary school, and 78% of 8 to 17-year-olds have their own phone.^[2] If the worry has arrived suddenly in your house, it may simply be that the phone has.

What does phone addiction look like in a child?

4 questions, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, are a better guide than any screen time total. Its 2019 guidance, which the RCPCH has since archived as superseded, said there are no “safe” amounts of screen time and set no cut-off. Instead it asks families: is screen time in your household controlled; does screen use interfere with what your family want to do; does it interfere with sleep; and are you able to control snacking during screen time?^[1] The caveat, which the RCPCH made itself, is that the right amount varies from family to family. England’s Department for Education opened a call for evidence on screen use for 5 to 16 year olds on 8 June 2026 and plans to publish guidance in autumn 2026, saying it will avoid blanket rules; until then, these questions remain a sensible way in.^[5]

Notice that the first question is about the household, not the child, and the fact sheet is explicit that it means adults’ screen use too. Beyond those four, it is worth noticing whether your child has dropped things they used to love, whether they are tired from late-night use, and whether being without the phone causes distress rather than mild grumbling. We set out age-by-age guidance in how much screen time should kids have by age?

What should I do if my child is addicted to their phone?

1 hour without screens before bed was the RCPCH’s 2019 rule of thumb, and the government’s 2026 advice for under-5s says the same; it is the simplest place to start, because sleep is where phones do the most obvious damage.^[1] Charging phones outside bedrooms, for everyone, makes it far easier to keep.

From there, the 2019 guidance suggested sitting down as a family in a calm moment to agree boundaries, making sure everyone understands them, applying them consistently, and thinking about your own phone use as well.^[1] That last point is uncomfortable but important. Children notice.

It also helps to remember that many young people are already trying. Ofcom found 65% of online 13 to 17-year-olds had taken steps to manage their own time online in the past year, such as turning off notifications (29%), setting aside offline time (28%) and not taking devices to bed (21%).^[2] Asking “what would help you?” often gets further than announcing a ban. Arguments are common: in a US survey, 38% of parents and 38% of teens said they at least sometimes argue about how much time the teen spends on the phone.^[4] Agreeing the rules together takes some of the heat out.

Finally, give the phone some competition. The easiest time to put a phone down is when there is something else worth picking up. A regular phone-free family hour gives everyone a shared, predictable break, and it is worth letting your child be bored now and then, since boredom is often where the better ideas start.

When should I get help for my child’s phone use?

Yes, get help if the phone use comes with persistent low mood, anxiety, withdrawal from friends, refusing school, or badly disrupted sleep. Your GP or your child’s school is the right first step. The caveat here is a hopeful one: in many cases the phone is a symptom as much as a cause, a place a child goes to escape something else, and finding that something else can matter more than any screen rule.

Most families will never need that step. What they need is a bit of structure, a bit of patience and a few good alternatives. If you would like one ready-made, The Bored Box is our small collection of screen-free prompts for exactly those restless in-between hours.