Is a Mobile Phone Harmful for Babies? Safety Tips

A phone near your baby is not automatically harmful, but it should stay out of your baby’s hands and sleep space because it is not designed as a toy. The more immediate concerns are choking on loose parts or accessories, burns from an overheating device, tangled charging cords, and distractions when you need to supervise your baby.

You can keep your phone nearby for calls, photos, or a baby-monitoring app, but place it on a stable surface where your baby cannot reach it or pull it down. If you want more distance during a call, use speakerphone and set the phone away from your baby rather than placing it against your baby’s body.

For sleep, place your baby on their back on a firm, flat sleep surface, and keep phones, charging cables, headphones, and other loose objects out of the crib. A phone playing music or white noise belongs outside the crib, with any power cord secured well beyond your baby’s reach.

If a device feels unusually hot, unplug it and let it cool away from your baby, and never leave it charging under bedding or a pillow. Keep the volume low enough for you to hear your baby and avoid placing a speaker directly beside their ears.

For babies younger than 18 months, avoid screen media other than video chatting, and give your baby plenty of opportunities to interact with you through talking, singing, and play. During a video call, you can sit with your baby and help them connect with the person on screen rather than leaving them alone with the device.

If your baby reaches for your phone, offer an age-appropriate toy instead, and keep small accessories such as detachable grips or button batteries safely out of reach. Our team recommends keeping phones away from feeding and play areas when possible so you can give your baby your attention.

A crib mobile is a hanging nursery accessory, not a mobile phone; our Bluetooth Baby Cloud Crib Mobile with Musical Rattles is one example. For more guidance on using a nursery mobile, read our crib mobile use and safety guide.

Install any crib mobile according to its instructions, keep it out of your baby’s reach, and inspect its attachment and parts regularly. Remove it when your baby begins to push up on their hands and knees or reaches 5 months of age, whichever comes first.