14 DAY TRIAL // Tablets might be becoming our child’s best-friend but a new study suggests these devices (eReaders included) are detrimental to kid’s reading habits.
The research was conducted by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and included 1,577 parents. 62% of them admitted their kids (age between 2 and 10) have access to a tablet computer or eReader (via BusinessInsider) on a daily basis.
Nevertheless, only 49% use the device to actually read and when they do so they tend to spend an average of 5 minutes a day. Compare this to 30 minutes they spend with a traditional book and we can conclude children are distracted by other more "appealing" possibilities tablets offer.
44% of parents consider the content streamed by their kids on tablets to be educational and 57% of them actually believe apps and games helped children better understand subjects like math or science. Parents apparently choose to ignore the warnings of experts who do not recommend prolonged tablet exposure, even for "educational" purposes.
These findings come at a time when more and more companies are releasing all sort of dedicated kiddie apps. For example Archos just launched the 101 ChildPad which comes with an endearing removable Teddy-shaped Audio Player.