The new pacifier: Smart phones

Mobile devices have become mini-pacifiers/babysitters for many wee ones: 52 percent of all children 8 and younger have access to mobile devices at home like a smartphone, video iPod, iPad or other tablet, according to Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that studies children’s use of technology. …

Computer use continues to be “pervasive among very young children,” with 53 percent of all 2- to 4-year-olds having used a computer, and 90 percent of 5- to -8-year olds. Among all children who have used a computer, the “average age at first use was just 3-1/2,” Common Sense Media said.
Meanwhile, children under age 2 “spend twice as much time watching TV and videos (53 minutes) as they do reading books (23 minutes),” Common Sense Media says.