Millennial parents show leniency when it comes to kids’ tech use

The BabyCenter study, which examined the usage of mobile devices, the internet and social media among one- to nine-year-olds, finds that 80% of parents allow their kids to use their smartphone or tablet, and 65% of kids start using their parents' devices before age three.
October 20, 2015

As the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) rethinks its screen-time guidelines for kids under the age of two, a new study from US-based pregnancy and parenting resource BabyCenter shows just how much tech usage is being condoned by millennial parents.

The study, which examined the usage of mobile devices, the internet and social media among kids ages one to nine, finds that 80% of parents allow their children to use their smartphone or tablet, and 65% of kids start using their parents’ devices before age three.

In terms of ownership, 20% of the kids surveyed receive their first phone by age eight, and 71% have a tablet of their own by the same age.

Parents also say that more than a third of their children have some type of social media account, and 22% opened an account by age 10. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube are the top social media sites among all ages, and kids cite staying connected with friends as the top reason for wanting to use social media. In fact, 40% of older children (ages nine and up) are given unlimited access to the internet without any monitoring whatsoever.

The study follows on the heels of the AAP announcing that previously held notion of discouraging any screen time for children under the age of two is now out of touch with modern family life.

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