We see it everywhere, parents using their smartphones and iPads to pacify a toddler. Children below 3 now have Ipads as toys and can operate any smartphone. A report has suggested this habit needs to be watched.

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine released findings that conclude that the use of smartphones and tablets under the age of 30 months can be harmful in a child’s “social-emotional development.” Furthermore, the researchers speculate that the excessive use of the devices by children below three years of age could impair a child’s development of the skills needed for maths and science.

Researchers are warning parents that using smart devices to divert a child’s attention could be detrimental. They’ve expressed concern over how pre-school children are caught up on the technology for long periods of time daily, and suggest that instead parents increase “direct human to human interaction.”

There is plenty of research that show how children under 30 months can learn as much from television and videos as they can from human interaction. But there isn’t sufficient research into whether interactive applications on mobile devices produce a similar result. As more kids spend more time on the devices, rather than playing and communicating with peers, some skills can be lost.

Keeping your child quiet, playing on an iPad, may cause more harm than good. But more research is needed.

Pending the wait for more research evidence, I think parents should watch it