Feeling alone at home: Time to unplug and connect with your kids?

The family calendar is packed and displayed on a large chalkboard in the middle of the kitchen. It's the only way Belinda Briggs can keep it all in order.

"We are so busy and our time together is precious," Briggs said.

Briggs has two kids, a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old, and about three years ago she noticed something. Her family spent a lot of time together but they often spent that time staring at phones.

"There were times where we would all be on and doing our own thing. We are out at a restaurant together, we are at the dinner table trying to enjoy each other's company, but we are in our own little thing," Briggs said.

A recent study in the United Kingdom showed just how widespread this is among families. Researchers looked at family time in the year 2000 and compared it with family time in 2015. While they found kids spend more time with their parents these days, they also found kids reported feeling alone during a lot of that time.

"Most of the time I will hear that 'My child isn't connecting with me,' so we are not as aware of how we are contributing to these dynamics," said Bryan Landaas, a psychotherapist and owner of Third Wave Psychotherapy in Raleigh.

Habits like checking email, returning work-related text messages, or grabbing the phone to see a news alert could send unintended signals to your child about your priorities.

"It's very easy to rationalize or to come to the conclusion that, 'I just have to check this email now because it's important.' And that might be true. What we are less aware of is (that) what we are saying isn't as important in that moment," Landaas said.

Briggs wanted the habits in her house to change, so she and her husband made some rules. They don't allow phones at the dinner table and all devices must stay out of bedrooms. These rules apply to everyone living in the house.

"The kids getting older and having more of their own voice are the first to point out, 'Oh Mom, you are on your phone and you are supposed to be building a puzzle with me,'" Briggs said.

"It's recognizing that it is a two-way street," Landaas said. "Relationships go both ways and as a parent you are really in position to lead, so I think this would be a good opportunity to lead by example."

Experts say the best way to start is to take a walk with your kids and leave the phone at home, or try to build in family activities that do not involve the phone like board games to encourage everyone in the house to unplug and reconnect.