Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore the structural relationships among fathers', mothers', and children's smart devices dependence, the amount of family time spent together, and executive functioning difficulties.
 Methods Data from 548 pairs of parents and children who responded to all relevant factors in the 13th Korean Child Panel Survey(2020) were analyzed. Reliability analysis for scales, correlation analysis between variables, and descriptive statistics analysis were conducted. Validity was confirmed through measurement model validation, and structural model analysis was conducted by applying the maximum likelihood method (MLB) to the theory-based research model. Afterward, a mediation effect test based on bootstrapping and an individual indirect effect test using phantom variables were conducted.
 Results The results showed that mothers' dependence on smart devices increased children's dependence on smart devices, and the amount of family time spent together reduced both dependence on smart devices and executive functioning difficulties. In addition, children's smart device dependence increased executive functioning difficulties and mediated the relationship between maternal smart device dependence and children's executive functioning difficulties.
 Conclusions Exploration of the structural relationships among the study variables confirmed that maternal and child dependence on smartphones and the amount of family time spent together influenced children's executive functioning difficulties.