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This likely isn鈥檛 a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the world around them, but a study just published in the journal shows that 44% of children under the age of 1 use mobile devices every day. By the age of 2, that jumps to 77%.

By age 4, half of the children in the study had their own TV 鈥� and three-quarters had their own mobile device. And these weren鈥檛 rich kids, either; the study was done at an urban, low-income practice in Philadelphia.

When the researchers asked parents about different situations where they let their children use the devices, here鈥檚 what they said:

• 70% let the children use them so that they could do chores
• 65% used them to keep their child calm in a public place
• 58% used them while running errands
• 29% used them to put their child to sleep

Now, as a parent, I totally see how having a smartphone can make all the difference when you are unexpectedly stuck in a boring place with a child who needs to be still and quiet. And it鈥檚 entirely possible that some of these kids are doing educational activities on their devices that will help them learn, or using Skype or FaceTime with a friend or relative.

But still, this is worrisome. As Dr. Dmitri Christakis, a pediatrician at the University of Washington who researches the effect of media on young children, said in a recent article, 鈥淐hildren need laps more than apps.鈥� We鈥檝e all been in situations where people are interacting with their phones and not each other. Dr. Jenny Radesky did a where she watched families in fast food restaurants and found an unsettling number of parents paying more attention to their phone than their child. 鈥� and for building strong relationships. Interacting with devices simply can鈥檛 replace it.

When my children were young, if we were going anywhere they might need to be quiet or patient, I was always ready 鈥� with books, small toys, crayons and paper, and some games to play (I Spy, Guess What I鈥檓 Thinking, etc.) I don鈥檛 see too many parents doing this anymore. What I see is parents handing their child a tablet or a smartphone.

Only time will tell what effects this will have on children; we will need years to understand if or how it affects their brains and their relationships. While we wait, we should try to do what we know works well for both. So, parents 鈥� along with the smartphone, pack some crayons. And consider, before you turn on the iPad, putting your child in your lap and playing I Spy.