Moms Soothe Toddlers With Smartphones

Moms are increasingly swapping dummies and pacifiers for high-tech gadgets to calm bored or cranky toddlers and babies, according to a study by Asda. Some 27 per cent of mothers questioned in the survey prefer handing their babies a smartphone rather than a soothing toy.

Though 40 per cent of moms restrict playtime to a couple of minutes, another 10 per cent admitted to leaving their tech-savvy babies to play with mobile gadgets for up to two hours. The most likely to entertain babies with smartphones are Scottish mothers.

According to research, one in five moms cite the baby`s favorite soft toy as a pacifier and only nine per cent fell back on a traditional dummy.

Parents are more tempted to hand smartphones to toddlers because of the increasing number of applications for children, such as games, puzzles and educational apps.

“No longer are mobile phones just a device for keeping in touch,” said David Fletcher, mobile phone expert at Asda. “To see them also used as an Ëœelectronic pacifier` is no surprise with the large variety of games and entertainment now available to download for children.”

The poll of 1,650 moms also found 25 per cent still stick to a milk bottle to restore calm and peace.