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Children using mobile devices at young age
A new study finds many kids are now using mobile devices by their first birthday.
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Seventy per cent of the parents reported allowing their children, ages 6 months to 4 years old, to play with mobile devices while the parents did housework, and 65 per cent said they had done so to placate a child in public.
The study found that half of children had their own television by the age of 4, while three quarters had their own mobile devices. All of them made visits to a Philadelphia pediatric clinic in October and November of 2014. The researchers and commenters noted that the study’s findings are alarming.
Ninety-seven percent of the children had used a smartphone or tablet by age 4; 75 percent of them had their own mobile device.
In other words, the study found basically no evidence of a “digital divide” in this impoverished community, said Dr. Matilde Irigoyen, chief of pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, and a lead author of the study.
The study was conducted on 350 children in a low-income, minority community. All but 3 percent had used a smartphone or tablet, the study found.
Exposure to mobile media devices is “almost universal” by the time children are four years old, and that applies to kids from low-income families as well, according to new research.
“We were very surprised to see how often the children used the mobile devices, how many of them owned a personal device, how many could use the device without assistance, and how many engaged in media multitasking”, Irigoyen said. Even though these devices can be educational, parents should be aware of what their children are and can be exposed to.
The findings suggest that 97 percent of households had televisions, 83 percent had tablets, and 77 percent had smartphones.
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She added that earlier studies had pointed a connection between mobile devices and disturbed sleep patterns. But given the high level of toddlers already using technology, researchers say parents need support and guidance to help them turn digital media into an educational device. Just over half had video consoles (56 percent), a computer (58 percent), and internet access at home (59 percent).