London, Aug 21 (IANS) Nearly half of parents (43 per cent) have "no idea" how people raised their kids before the invention of smartphones, a new study has said.

According to the study by OnePoll.com in collaboration with phone company Three UK, parents depend heavily on smartphones when it comes to raising their children.

The study gathered data from 1,000 participants with children aged 6 and under.

About 61 per cent of respondents said that smartphones are the most helpful tool in parenting, while 77 per cent admitted to using their phones up to 77 times per week to search for childcare advice.

The study also revealed that mothers and fathers regularly use smartphones to shop for their kids.

“We know the important role phones play in people’s lives. As the research shows, this role becomes even more important after you’ve had a child -- your phone becomes a critical addition to your family,” said Aislinn O’Connor, Marketing Director at Three UK.

“Playing the role of entertainer, doctor, connector and much more in everyday life,” she added.

Moreover, the study found that the widespread use of smartphones has resulted in an increase in data consumption.

Due to increased phone usage, nearly 34 per cent of parents reported having to upgrade their data plans. Parents continue to exceed their monthly data limits by five gigabytes on average.

Parents downloading entertainment for their children is one of the primary causes of this increase in data usage.

Streaming and downloading content for children was identified as one of the most significant data drains, with an average of 12 hours per week dedicated to these activities, according to the study.

Apart from entertainment, parents use their smartphones for a variety of purposes -- about 67 per cent of parents use their phones primarily to take photos, 62 per cent enjoy sending WhatsApp messages, and 60 per cent use their phones to check the weather forecast.