Post date: Sep 19, 2015 3:49:49 AM

Blog Post for September 18, 2015

A few weeks ago I was strolling through Walmart, checking items off my shopping list, when I heard an agitated baby fussing nearby. I looked up to see a maybe 18 month old child sitting in her parent’s shopping cart and loudly demanding attention: she was on the verge of an all-out scream fest. Then, her mother hastily placed a smartphone in her hands and the transformation was instant, astonishing, and disturbing. The child placed the phone up to her ear and started to babble nonsense. Crisis averted, we all went back to shop.

As the grandmother of two little boys who love me—and my gadgets—I know that children enjoy playing with technology. But don’t they still make cheap little plastic phones? Yes, but babies enjoy the real thing, obviously! More concerning to me has been the parade of accessories that are geared for babies and toddlers: special rugged iPad cases with a built in handle for safety, a plastic shield that protects the iPad’s screen which can be fastened onto car seats and strollers, and a small fuzzy animal that is meant to slip over an iPhone. When the HappiTaps app is downloaded, it transforms the iPhone or iPod Touch into a talking little animal that tells your child stories. The toy comes with a bright pink ring that can be placed onto a stroller or high chair or car seat.

I saw one of these products on the clearance rack for a couple of dollars and the other one just recently for a dollar at Walmart; unfortunately, the app is no longer available or I would have tried it out. When I did some research, all of the sources that came up were from 2012 or so, which isn’t that long ago, but in the tech world, where there is a new gadget every year, it is a long time. What happened? I don’t know.

A line on the package caught my attention: “add a little character for on-the-go-entertainment.” Thinking about that statement made me remember my experiences as a young single parent; my children were not overly involved in after school activities, but we did spend a lot of time in the car going places. Parents today are often juggling two careers, children, church activities, family events, and community involvement. That makes for a lot of time in the car seat for little ones, and those mobile devices have become a source of entertainment that parents rely on more and more.

The HappiTaps package also advertises this product for children 18+ months. However, it turns out, according to a study done earlier this year, that’s pretty old for using technology: 1 in 3 babies has used a smartphone or tablet before turning one! The study was carried out by the Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and reported to the 2015 U.S. Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting .

“They found that by the age of 1, more than one-third of the babies had touched or scrolled the screen of a mobile device such as a smartphone. And by age 2, more than half had scrolled screens, called someone, watched a TV show on the device, played video games or used an app. By the age of 2, more than one-quarter were using mobile devices for at least an hour a day, the study found.”

We don't know enough yet to say if it is harmful for children to be exposed to technology at such a young age. Some experts argue that Apps like educational games may stimulate language development, especially if parents are interacting with the children. Simply handing a toddler a device, however, can be problematic, since the child is not really equipped to make good choices alone. Thirty minutes on a tablet or phone seems like a long time if unsupervised and an hour seems too long for a two year old. Just as we once worried about children watching too much TV, we now worry about handing that device to the baby.

When Corbin, my older grandson, was in the crawling stage, we wanted to show off his crawling skills to visiting Aunt Mikki one Sunday after church. His father placed him on the floor and several of us made encouraging noises: “C’mon, Corbin! Crawl over here….” When he didn’t budge, I had the bright idea of putting my iPhone down on the floor, with one of the apps he liked (I think it was the Koi pond). Another family member, Alex, put down his Android phone. Corbin heard and saw my iPhone and sure enough, started to crawl towards it. Aunt Mikki, while cracking up, grabbed her phone and captured some video that ends with Corbin reaching for the iPhone and Uncle Alex saying, “NOOOOOOOO!!!”

So, I confess: I showed Corbin pictures on the phone, and a few apps like the fishes in the Koi pond, or the Fluid app that shows water flowing over rocks. We only spent a few minutes playing with the iphone or ipad each time. However, as he got bigger, he showed more interest. I remember the night he spent the night at our house, and then in the morning came walking into our bedroom holding the iPhone that had been plugged into Grandma’s computer. How did he know at age 2 ½ to 3 how to unplug it and how did he know which icon to select to get his beloved Sushi Monster game up and running?

Some researchers are calling our babies and toddlers the app generation, and many expect more and more children will have access to tablets as preschools and early childhood programs adapt more technology. Several years ago, when I had my first iPad, a student told me that his mother had an in-home day care, and nearly all of her 3 and 4 year old children were bringing some kind of tablet for games to day care! No doubt researchers will be studying these kids for the next 20 years to try to understand how the exposure to technology is impacting how they develop and learn.

Sometimes, I feel a little bit like one of those researchers with my own built-in research subjects: it fascinates me to watch the boys navigating, figuring out how to use the touch screen and which icons to choose for their favorite games. Now that he is almost 5, Corbin likes games featuring Minions and Ninjas: he doesn’t need much help from me. Mason, the two year old, has his own set of apps he likes to play, including puzzles, coloring pages, and yes, the Koi Pond. He gets a little more frustrated and wants my help finding his apps. However, our time together isn’t just spent on iPads: I make an effort to get out the puppets, Ninja Turtles, Pirate ships, play doh, color books, and trucks. They like going outside and playing in the yard, and have a swing set complete with slide and little fort.

Even so, sooner or later, one or both of them will ask if I have my iPads. What reassures me, however, is that when we sit on Corbin’s bed with a pile of books, both boys love reading their favorite stories. After lunch this summer, we developed a routine where we went into Corbin’s room and read books together. We sat on Corbin’s bed and first read Corbin’s pick and then Mason’s, turning the pages and talking to each other about the characters and stories. They’re smart little boys, talking and laughing, and Grandma’s iPads are not a daily thing, which makes them—and me—a special treat!

Last Updated September 18, 2015