“Teach your children well,” especially when it comes to technology. The Digital Native starts fingerpainting on an iPad, makes noises at Grandma over Skype even before she can talk, and uses Uber rather than carpooling with mom. Millennial parents are now facing their own issues that their parents didn’t have to consider, when it comes to potentially expensive technology in little hands.

KidsMeetTech Infographic

Logitech survey confirms that 92 percent of children are using tablets and mobile phones. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Logitech released survey results about children’s tablet and mobile phone use, confirming that kids are indeed getting their hands on expensive tech at a younger age. The survey, conducted by Wakefield Research, polled more than 1,000 parents in the U.S. and U.K. with children ages two to seven, revealing patterns of mobile device use for children and corresponding parental attitudes.

The results suggest that while a majority of children use tablets and smartphones, parents are divided on whether they want their kids using tech so early. Although more than 92 percent of children are using mobile devices, just 51 percent of parents believe it’s appropriate to introduce kids ages five and under to mobile devices. And, in the U.K., most parents (60 percent) believe you should wait until after age five to share tablets or smartphones with their children.

This may be due in part to the fact that children are often mishandling these devices, be it their own device or a device belonging to their parents. The survey said:

  • Parents report that approximately half of children (47 percent in the U.K. and 56 percent in the U.S.) are frequently mishandling mobile devices. This accounts for 47 percent of U.S. children and 36 percent of U.K. children who have damaged the tablet or smartphone they’re using.
  • More than 45 percent of parents are handing their mobile devices over to their kids (45 percent in the U.K. and 49 percent in the U.S.), while more than one in three children have a device to call their own (35 percent in the U.K. and 40 percent in the U.S.).

“There’s no denying it, screens are increasingly a larger part of childhood and at a much younger age,” said Michele Hermann, vice president of mobility at Logitech. “And after the holiday season, there is surely a new wave of tablet owners under the age of seven.

While parents may be split on what age is appropriate to bring tech into their children’s lives, they agree on what it should be used for; 88 percent of U.S. parents and 84 percent of U.K. parents think that educational purposes are the best reasons to allow children to use mobile devices. For those parents looking to introduce tech to their children, Logitech has the following tips:

  • Use a kid-friendly browser designed with games and parent-approved websites to ensure that your children are accessing approved sites.
  • Time limits can help keep boundaries in place. Set a timer on your mobile device for 30 minutes, so when it goes off, your child will know it’s time to move on to another activity.
  • When you take care of your tech, your kids will, too. Teach your kids the right way to handle and care for tech.

Research Methodology

The Logitech survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 502 U.S. parents and 501 U.K. parents with children ages two to seven, in November 2015, using an email invitation and an online survey.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus for each audience, by more than 4.4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.