[...]
many parents sharing iPhones with their young ones feel nagging guilt. They wonder whether it is indeed an educational tool, or a passive amusement like television. The American Academy of Pediatrics has long advised parents not to let their children watch any TV until they are past their second birthday. Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, a pediatrician who is a member of the academy's council of communications and media, said '[...]cellphone industry is becoming so complex[...]' But, she added, 'at the moment, we seem to feel it's the same as TV.'
[...]
Jane M. Healy, an educational psychologist in Vail, Colo. said:'Any parent who thinks a spelling program is educational for that age is missing the whole idea of how the preschool brain grows. What children need at that age is whole body movement, the manipulation of lots of objects and not some opaque technology.
[...]
Tovah P. Klein, the director of Columbia University's Barnard College Center for Toddler Development[...]worries that fixation on the iPhone screen every time a child is out and about with parents will limit the child's ability to experience the wider world
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As with TV in earlier generations, the world is increasingly divided into those parents who do allow iPhone use and those who don’t.[...] Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a psychology professor at Temple University who specializes in early language development, sides with the Don'ts. Research shows that children learn best through active engagement that helps them adapt, she said, and interacting with a screen doesn't qualify.
