PHILADELPHIA (KRON) — More and more kids in this country are learning to use computers, phones, and iPads before they can walk.
And they are not just the children of well-to-do parents. That is just one of the surprising findings of a study exploring young kids and all those devices.
The striking news isn’t that kids love computers. It is how many of them are using them before they can walk.
By the age of 1, 20 percent have their own tablet computer. Nearly half use a mobile device daily.
By the age of 2, 77 percent need no help using a smartphone or tablet. By the time they are 3, they spend an average of an hour a day on the devices.
By the age of 4, 21 percent own a gaming console. Seventy-five percent have their own smartphone or other mobile device.
The study focused on a few hundred families in a low-income minority community in Philadelphia. The researchers said at least when it comes to access to computers, there are no differences due to income.
Twenty-eight percent of parents use electronics to put their kids to sleep.