MORE PARENTS ARE ALLOWING THEIR YOUNG KIDS TO GO ONLINE TO PLAY GAMES, EXCHANGE PHOTOS AND EMAILS AND LEARN THEIR ABC'S

This year, 32.3 million moms will go online at least once a month. eMarketer defines a mom as any adult female with children under 18 in the household. That means a lot of little eyes will be looking over her shoulder or under her elbow at the screen, taking in all the sights (and sites).

 

In 2011, eMarketer estimates there will be 20.2 million children under 11 going online at least once per month from any location, or 39.9% penetration of this age group. By 2014, that number will rise to 24.9 million kids, or 47.8% of this young population. 

 

Mobile internet access, according to Placecast, is more important to parents with children under age 6 (70%) than those of children in other age brackets. And families with young children are using their phones to find stores (64%), local information and activities via an app (61%), even to buy something online (36%). 

A study from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center looked at the “pass-back” effect of parents who hand their mobile device to a child. According to the November 2010 report, the child usually played a game on the device but could also see pictures, videos and music. Each session lasted about 5 to 20 minutes.

Gema and Eliana Singer, both 3 years old have fun using their parent's Apple iPhone to learn

Marketers formally barred from targeting children under 13 might consider creating mobile apps that offer educational benefits for this age group, and target the moms on the go with the marketing messages.

COMMENTARY:   There is a lot of truth to the saying that "today's three-year olds are yesterday's five-year olds".   The kids are catching on to what their parents are doing with their mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad, and they are learning how to use those "magical" mobile devices for playing games and learning their ABC's.

Please read another one of my blog postings titled, "HOW SMARTPHONES AND HANDHELD DEVICES AND APPS HAVE CREATED AN EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION", about this new mobile device trend.

Courtesy of an article dated December 3, 2010 appearing in eMarketer Digital Intelligence

Comments

[Cheats for Club Penguin]

Nice Blog !!
Online games are not only a source of entertainment and fun for kids. It also helps in their learning process and also increases their skills and abilities.

[Tommy Toy]

Kids, thanks for the comments and video link. No wonder the kids all want an iPad for christmas.

[Kids]

Very true. Digital teaching has become common nowadays. Various mom haven't got time to sit and teach their kids.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bDNMuA795U They just engage the kids with games and sharing photos of relatives and thus they teach them the basics. Nice post. But they must not be exposed to such media devices in an early age.