Obsession With IPads Linked to Agitation in Kids

Use of hi-tech devices by modern parents has made children as young as 2-month-olds become obsessed with iPads, smart phones or similar devices.

But the more parents use these devices to calm their kids down, the less likely the kids are to learn how to calm themselves down naturally, said researchers at Barnard College.

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They said that if kids are constantly pacified with an iPad, they won't be learning the skills to come down from a tantrum, ABC News reported.

In a study, child development experts at Barnard College's renowned Center for Toddler Development observed several young kids and monitored their reactions to traditional toys versus an iPad, taking note of how the kids reacted after the iPad was taken away.

The center tested for "distractibility" by having researchers call out the names of the children who were playing with iPads and noted how readily the children responded. Many of the kids were so zoned in on the apps they were playing with, they didn't respond to the researchers at all.

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But once the iPads were confiscated, the researchers believed the toddlers transformed into more verbal, more social and more creative creatures.

Tovah Klein, the director of Barnard's toddler center who specializes in toddler social and emotional development, said the kids were much more active when the iPads were taken away.

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"You see how much their vocabulary has gone up and they are talking to each other," she said.

Researchers said imagination needs to be exercised like a muscle in order for creativity to be developed. Over time, children's play became more elaborate and three-dimensional.