How did we ever do without smartphones? Research shows that more than 60% of parents believe the device is one of the most useful tools for raising their children, while four in ten say they don’t know how parents ever managed without it

Using their phones, parents can now have lively discussions on Mumsnet, listen to a deluge of podcasts or find a wealth of tips on everything from sleep schedules to weaning.

It all left them wondering how on earth children were raised before smartphones were invented.

One survey found that 43 percent of parents don’t know how the moms and dads before them coped without cell phones.

Sixty-one percent of the 1,000 parents surveyed believe their smartphone is one of the most useful tools for raising their little one.

A generation ago, moms and dads might have looked at a well-thumbed manual, but the research shows they now average 78 internet searches a week for childcare advice and answers.

Some respondents admitted to searching the Internet for help more than 50 times a day. Parents also said they used their phones to take an average of 23 photos of their child per week.

The survey among parents of children up to the age of six was carried out by OnePoll on behalf of the mobile phone network Three UK.

It follows a survey of 270 mothers with children up to the age of six last year, in which many said they felt supported by parenting content on Instagram. But others told the researchers at the University of Copenhagen that using the site could make them feel guilty, judged or worried that their child had failed to meet key developmental milestones.

The latest survey found that some parents are members of ten or more WhatsApp, Facebook or chat groups with other parents.

In the search for moral support, some messaged a fellow parent, such as a friend, family member or colleague, an average of 11 times a week, the poll found.

Two-thirds of parents said they found mobile phones useful for capturing photos and videos of their child in cute moments, while more than half said they were useful for buying baby-related items or researching teething problems.

About 34 percent said their phone helped them play white noise, a sleep aid. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said their device had helped them through some really tough parenting moments.

But the survey also showed that 39 percent had exceeded the data bundle of their telephone contract.

Only 19 percent of non-parents were found to have used too much data in a separate survey of 2,000 people.

Three recently doubled their data donation to the National Database, an initiative of the Good Things Foundation that provides free data to people in need.

Three has now pledged two million gigabytes to charity. Professor Ellie Lee, director of the Center for Parenting Culture Studies at the University of Kent, who was not involved in the study, said: ‘All evidence confirms that parents and parents-to-be are increasingly using apps and online advice. – and are encouraged to do so, including by the health service.

“When it comes to common childhood problems where there’s a consensus on what to do, or to have discussions with other parents, this can be a reassuring, accessible resource.

“The problem isn’t the phones themselves, but a culture that tells parents all the time that everything that happens from conception will have a lifelong impact if they don’t get it right.

“The constant search for advice tells us that parenting in general is much more paranoid than it needs to be and that’s a problem.”