Savannah Guthrie got real about her parental worries in an emotional on-air confession on the Today Show, which featured an hour-long special on how long children are spending on their phones.
While speaking to experts about the worrying rise of children and teenagers reliant on their phones, Savannah confessed that already her children were “begging” for a phone.
“They’re only six and nine, they’re begging me for a phone already,” she said. The Today co-host explained that she had spoken to friends with older kids who had experienced similar issues. “They say ‘we gave in. We gave them the phone and now my whole relationship with my kid has transformed. It’s only about that phone and their access to that phone.’”
“It doesn’t feel like a fair fight and parents need help too”, the host expressed.
Savannah has two children with husband Michael Feldman, a Democratic political and communications consultant, a daughter, Vale, who is nine-years-old, and a son, Charles, who is six.
Co-host Hoda Kotb shared her own experience grappling with having young children in a world where owning a phone is the norm. She has two daughters she adopted in 2017 and 2019, Haley aged six, and Hope who is four.
"I've given my kid the phone at the doctor's office because they're feeling stressed”, she confessed, recognising that it might not be the best approach to the situation. “But then you don’t ever learn how to regulate your stress because the minute you need a break, the thing (phone) is slid right in front of you."
The hour-long special on kids’ screen time saw Hoda and Savannah speak to experts and teenagers about the possible impact of young people’s dependence on smartphones and screens.
This news-driven episode follows on from October 19th’s emotional episode where Hoda opened up about her battle with breast cancer. She spoke of meeting then-stranger Ken Duane on a play, who told her:as she recalled speaking to someone during a plane journey who said: "Breast cancer is part of you ... Don't hog your journey. It's not just for you."
