It's possible, though, to find creative solutions that will keep everyone happy and bond the family together instead of dividing it.
If parents encourage and praise "good" mobile phone use, children are likely to be less stubborn about the "bad" uses.
For example the phone's camera can be used not just to take snapshots but for entire photo stories jointly planned by the family, suggests Klicksafe, an EU-funded initiative aimed at improving internet security.
The pictures can be taken on occasions like birthdays and a photo gallery can be set up using them. If the images are downloaded to a computer, sound or effects can be added as a family project.
Another family activity using the juveniles' smartphones is to set up a competition.
For example, who can write a text message in the fastest time and without mistakes? Yet another option is to use the phone's sound recorder to create puzzles.
Parents and children can record an everyday noise and ask each other to guess what it is. And short movies can be filmed that everyone can watch together.
