Huge rise in pre-schoolers on smart devices

ACCESS Educational tool THREE quarters of under-fives have access to a smartphone, laptop or tablet – up from less than a half four years ago.

More than half of three to four-year-old children have a device, a survey has revealed.

The report by market researchers Childwise found many pre-schoolers are playing video games which help with numeracy and literacy, and accessing YouTube and YouTube Kids.

TV is still popular with CBeebies their favourite channel and Peppa Pig their top show.

Viewing times have leapt from two and a half hours a day last year to nearly three hours, while toddlers are using smart speakers such as Amazon’s Alexa to listen to nursery rhymes or stories. Childwise research manager Jenny Ehren said: “The increasing use of devices may reflect growing access to on-demand services.”