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| Apps of benefit to preschoolers but need to be chosen wisely
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A study examining the use of apps and tablets among preschoolers has found that while they can foster play and creativity parents and carers should be selective about the apps they make available to children.
The research, which included a survey of more than 2000 parents and carers, was conducted by the universities of Sheffield and Edinburgh, CBeebies, children's media industry partners Dubit and Foundling Bird and Monteney Primary School, Sheffield.
Principal investigator Professor Jackie Marsh, of the University of Sheffield's School of Education, said that while the use of apps and tablets by preschoolers can be very productive and foster a wide range of play and creativity, they need to be chosen carefully.
"Apps that contain adverts and pop-ups for in-app purchases can limit children's play. In addition, whilst children of this age want to play some of the same games that their older siblings or parents play, these are not age-appropriate and do not offer a great deal of value for preschoolers," she said.
In the study, researchers found that in households where there are tablets, 31 per cent of under-fives have their own and use them for an average of one hour and 19 minutes on weekdays and one hour and 23 minutes on weekends.
Tablets are typically used to watch television programmes and films, play games, listen to music, draw and paint, create virtual worlds, look after pets, dress up avatars and engage in role-play.
According to the researchers over half of children aged 0-five can swipe the screen, trace shapes with their fingers, drag items across the screen, open their apps, draw things, tap the screen to operate commands, exit apps and enter other apps and turn the device on and off without any assistance.
Peter Winter, Information Communication Technology teacher at Monteney Primary School, said that early childhood settings and schools have an important role in advising parents which apps are best for younger children.
"Teachers could be a valuable source of information for parents on apps that have educational value through the use of Twitter feeds, blogs and/ or newsletters. Offering guidance in these areas is crucial if parents are going to help their children to use digital tools effectively," he said.
The study found that children's top ten favourite apps are:
- YouTube
- CBeebies (Playtime and Storytime)
- Angry Birds
- Peppa's Paintbox
- Talking Tom (and similar)
- Temple Run
- Minecraft
- Disney (general)
- Candy Crush Saga
- Toca Boca
For more information on the project, visit www.techandplay.org
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