Wednesday 16 March 2016
The research found that children as young as one regularly use touchscreen devices, with most toddlers handling them competently by the age of two. Instead of being unhealthy for a child, time on touchscreen devices is not dissimilar to traditional forms of interactive play.
The study found that 82 per cent of parents owned a smart device and 87 per cent of them let their child play with it. Actions such as swiping, unlocking or searching on smartphones and tablets were skills possessed by the majority of children. Half of parents said their child could unlock the screen, 91 per cent could swipe and 64 per cent could search for features.
The report, published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, said: “Interactive touchscreen applications offer a level of engagement not previously experienced with other forms of media and are more akin to traditional play. This opens up the potential… for both assessment of development and early intervention in high-risk children.”
