Experts say they lead to learning or behavioral problems
Child experts are warning that giving your kid a tablet to play with can lead to learning or behavioral problems. In the kid, not you of course. If it was my kid and the tablet was an iPad the behavioral problems would involve hitting it with a hammer. [The iPad, not the kid, of course. Ed]
Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Technology Review, said this week at a New York panel titled "Baby Brains and Video Games” that 15 percent of kids between three and eight had used their parents' iPad. Nine percent had their own iPad, while 20 percent had their own iPod.
While 77 percent of parents believed that using tablets was beneficial for their children and the same number thought the gadgets helped develop creativity. But other experts on the panel said that "Interactive doesn't mean educational" and kids need to talk to their parents rather than play with a shiny toy.
Annie Murphy Paul, author of "How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives," said she strictly controls her own offspring's access to such devices and remains concerned "about the value" for small children.
Update: Doctor Buckleitner got in touch with us to point out that the issue should not be oversimplified and that parents should make up their mind for themselves. In case you are interested in the finer points, you can see the full panel discussion here.
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Nick Farrell
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