By NEIL SEARS
Protective: The iPad cover that means children of six months can use their parents' device without getting dribble on it It’s usually a good year before a baby is up on his or her feet – but why should that stop them exploring the big wide world of the internet. Fisher-Price is marketing a plastic and rubber casing for an iPad so children of six months can use mummy or daddy’s device without getting dribble all over it. Selling at around £33, it might be perfect for those who think you are never too young to get online. But the product will alarm critics who believe computers are increasingly being used as ‘electronic babysitters’ when children should be using traditional toys or listening to stories read by their parents. Recent advice even suggested children under three should not use any computers or watch TV.
Warning: Child psychologist Dr Aric Sigman said toddlers should not spend any time looking at screens The product is called the ‘Laugh and Learn Apptivity Case’ and is described as being for children aged six months and older. A picture on the box features a baby using an iPad, safely protected within the case, to play a game without any apparent adult assistance. The wording on the packaging boasts: ‘This sturdy case will protect your iPad from dribbles, drool, and sticky little fingers. The company also offers free apps ‘for plenty of learning fun’. Children who tire of the moving pictures on the screen can amuse themselves with the ‘textured handle and rattle beads’ at the top of the case, or swing it from side to side on its rocker base. All this, however, won’t impress child psychologist Dr Aric Sigman. Last month, he warned that toddlers should not spend any time looking at screens. He said computers were being used as an ‘inferior’ third parent and children risked limiting their brain development when they should be relating to their parents face to face. Professor Mitch Blair, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, also said paediatricians were becoming concerned about the effects of screen use on child development. source: dailymail
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