It doesn’t make a mess, fits neatly into your handbag and provides endless hours of entertainment, so who hasn’t whipped out an iphone to garner a moment’s peace from their toddler? But next time your child needs distracting it might be worth keeping in mind the alarming results of a new study that claims non-educational iphone play is linked to slower speech.
The research, which was carried out at the Cohen Children's Medical Centre in New York, found that children between the ages of 0-3 years old who played non-educational games on touch-screen devices had slower verbal development.
The study, quotes Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja as examples of games with zero educational value. But what shocked researchers most was the prevalence of smartphone parenting.
'We have observed in our neonatal clinic that the number one "toy" parents are giving their toddlers are smart phones,' said Dr Ruth Milanaik, chief investigator of the study and an attending developmental and behavioral physician at the Cohen Children's Medical Centre of New York.
'It was striking to see that parents were substituting books and general baby toys for smart phones. Many parents did not seem to bring any other distraction for their children except the touch screen devices.'
The study, carried out by paediatricians, examined 0-3-year-olds who used touch-screen devices to determine if their use was of any educational benefit.
Upon testing, children who played non-educational games using touch-screen devices had lower verbal scores.
The results also showed that although the majority of parents believed their children received educational benefits by using smart phones, readers and tablets, no such benefit was found.
'Technology can never replace a parent's interaction with his or her child. Just talking to your child is the best way to encourage learning,' Dr. Milanaik said.
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