Swiped Out?: Parenting Magazine Cover Story

The topic of young children and touchscreens made the cover of Parenting magazine's February issue. The article "Swipeout!" covers a range of topics, from how one kindergarten class uses iPhones and other technology to the use of iPads with children on the autism spectrum. Parenting senior editor Brian Braiker discusses the new Hacking Autism initiative by Autism Speaks, which invites programmers and developers to create technology-based ideas to help autistic children develop various skills.

The piece discusses the flip-side too. Children's increased screen time has led to decreased reading time, Braiker reports. And while some 7-year-olds may be designing computer programs today, they may be lagging behind in other areas. Braiker highlights a 2011 survey by Internet security company AVG that found that more children ages 2 to 5 knew how to play a basic computer game (58%) than ride a bike (52%). That same AVG study, by the way, showed that 69% of kids 2 to 5 could use a computer mouse but only 11% could tie their own shoelaces. And opening a web browser versus swimming without aid? Twenty-five percent of small children could do the former but only 20% the latter.