Addiction, disrupted sleep cycle, tech tantrums: This book shows how digital devices affect toddlers

Your children’s generation will be among the first to have never known life without digital devices (smartphones, tablets, and computers). Technology has become a ubiquitous part of our daily lives, so much so that we see these devices in the hands of children who aren’t yet out of diapers.

In fact, researchers at the University of Iowa discovered that by age two, 90% of children had a moderate ability to use a tablet. Says Dr Fran Walfish, a Los Angeles-based child and family psychotherapist in an article for the blog Little Things, “We have a lot of two-year-olds using tablets now, and I see three- and four-year-olds that are already addicted.”

As your preschooler grows older, it will become much harder to limit the time she spends on digital devices. Tablets and smartphones have edged their way into classrooms and day cares across the country, and they likely will be used by most of her peers during non-school hours.

But during these preschool years, you have more control over whether or not your child uses technology and, if so, for how long. As a mindful parent, you should use this control wisely. A preschooler really doesn’t need technology for anything. Nor will she have...

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