2012 Was an Interesting Year

It's February 2013, and this marks the launch of "The Digital Child," a hub of news, resources and information on children and digital media. Before 2012 gets too far behind us, here's a round-up of some of the big news, studies and other developments of the year.

Kids' Tablets Explosion

If it seemed like there was a new made-for-kids tablet out each time you turned around, it's probably because there was. It was the year of the kid tablet — from the Toys "R" Us Tabeo, with its Hello Kitty and Angry Birds accessory cases, to the Fuhu Nabi Jr. (shown) for the preschool and kindergarten set, equipped with a "baby monitor" video camera for parents. Kid tablets tend to be plastic, easy-to-grip for tiny hands and rubber-edged for extra durability. They come with an array of parental controls but a price tag not that much less than some adult versions (many are in the $150-$200 range). 

Children's Technology Review offered this in-depth report on the market in December, analyzing and reviewing tons — and tons — of kid tablets. ConsumerReports.org also lab-tested and kid-tested five popular 7-inch Android kid tablets in December. And see these reviews from Forbes. Expect much more news and reviews this year as the tablets-for-tots market explodes.

Study: Apple's App Store Heavily Targets Young Children

Speaking of exploding... over 80% of the top-selling paid educational apps in Apple's iTunes App Store now target children, a January study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop found. Of these apps, a whopping 72% target preschoolers. And it's a fast-growing market. An addendum to this study, from the summer, zoomed in on Apple's App Store's games category (which has an entire section devoted to kids, unlike its education category). It found that a full 56% of games apps target the toddler/preschooler set — by far the most popular age group. And almost a third of games apps (32%) make "some sort of educational claim," stating a learning objective. All of the apps making such claims target preschoolers and toddlers. 

FTC Warning: Privacy Woes Over Kids' Apps

With so much "app-tivity" geared toward the very young, can we soon expect an "app-lash"? In light of some looming privacy concerns, it's very possible. In December, the Federal Trade Commission outlined many troubling concerns over privacy and children's apps in its report "Mobile Apps for Kids: Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade." It was the FTC's second recent survey of the privacy disclosures and practices of children's apps (their first report was released in February 2012). Both surveys showed that app developers and stores are not providing parents information about the data being collected on their kids, who they're sharing it with and how it is being used. Parents, take note. Find the full FTC report here.

New Ratings: Got Learning Potential?

In April, Common Sense Media beta-launched a new rating system for kids' digital media to help parents and teachers find the more worthy products. The nonprofit organization rates websites, apps and video games as "Best for Learning," "Good for Learning," "Fair for Learning," or "Not for Learning." It is easy to search products by media type, title, age and the ratings themselves.

Panel: "Baby Brains and Video Games"

An expert panel held by New America NYC shed some light on a range of issues surrounding little ones and digital media last March. They discussed the latest research and outlined common concerns adults have about young minds and digital devices. One strong message was that content does matter. As panelist Rosemarie Truglio, senior VP of education and research for Sesame Workshop, put it, "Just because something is interactive does not necessarily make it educational." A lively Q&A followed the panel discussion. 

Some 2012 Articles Worth Reading:

"Educational Apps Alone Won't Teach Your Kid To Read", Slate, December 13, 2012
Adult-child interaction is still the most important factor in teaching literacy, write Lisa Guernsey and Michael Levine. They are two authors of the new report "Pioneering Literacy in the Digital Wild West", which analyzed apps and e-books that promise to help kids learn to read. The report found that the most popular ones tend to focus only on very basic literacy skills without addressing higher-level skills such as vocabulary development and comprehension. "At its best, the technology complements the work of trained teachers and parents," they write. "It doesn’t replace it." Guernsey is the director of the Education Initiative at the New America Foundation (and was a panelist on the above-mentioned "Baby Brains" panel). Levine is executive director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.

"Is Technology Sapping Children's Creativity?", The Washington Post, September 13, 2012
Early childhood development expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige reminds adults exactly how young children learn: "through direct play and hands-on experiences with people, with materials, and in nature," she writes. She discusses the importance of playing in the three-dimensional world and using good ol' fashioned open-ended materials like blocks, play-dough, sand and water. She also asks if when we quiet our kids with little screens, "are they missing out on the chance to feel, to argue, to sit in silence, to listen, to be?" (P.S.: Carlsson-Paige is also the mother of actor Matt Damon — and a former neighbor of the author of this blog, from the blogger's own early childhood.)

"Sunday Dialogue: How Children Play", The New York Times, June 30, 2012

Another interesting discussion about children's learning, this one from The New York Times' "Letters" section. In a letter responding to an earlier article, "Wasting Time Is New Divide in Digital Era", about how children and families in different socioeconomic strata use technology, Sarah Chumsky, a children’s media researcher, outlines the benefits of digital media for children. Readers respond, rather passionately. One challenge from a Waldorf School teacher, for example: "Watch your children while they are engaged with media of any kind. Look at their faces and their limbs. Then watch them while you are reading their favorite book or playing a game, or while they are on a swing. Then decide for yourself what is most benefiting your child’s deepest developmental needs."

"What Happens When Toddlers Zone Out With an iPad?", The Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2012
"In many ways, the average toddler using an iPad is a guinea pig," writes Ben Worthen — since scientific studies on the effects of such devices on toddlers' development can take three to five years, and iPads are not even yet three years old. Worthen discusses what pediatric neuroscientists and researchers have to say on the subject. He also documents what happened when his own toddler son started using an iPad (which he doesn't let him use anymore).

"Can Your Preschooler Learn Anything From an iPad App?", Slate, May 2, 2012
Another piece by Lisa Guernsey, veteran reporter and director of the Education Initiative at the New America Foundation — this one adapted from her March 2012 book, Screen Time: How Electronic Media — From Baby Videos to Educational Software — Affects Your Young Child. She discusses, among other things, the importance of apps and games that allow kids "open-ended" exploration and discovery, and the woeful lack of such products on the market today.