Toddlers' Favorite Toy: The iPhone
By HILARY STOUT October 15, 2010
THE bedroom door opened and a light went on, signaling an end to nap time. The toddler, tousle-haired and sleepy-eyed, clambered to a wobbly stand in his crib. He smiled, reached out to his father, and uttered what is fast becoming the cry of his generation: "iPhone!"
The iPhone has revolutionized telecommunications. It has also become the most effective tool in human history to mollify a fussy toddler, much to the delight of parents reveling in their newfound freedom to have a conversation in a restaurant or roam the supermarket aisles in peace. But just as adults have a hard time putting down their iPhones, so the device is now the Toy of Choice - akin to a treasured stuffed animal - for many 1-, 2- and 3-year-olds. It's a phenomenon that is attracting the attention and concern of some childhood development specialists.
Natasha Sykes, a mother of two in Atlanta, remembers the first time her daughter, Kelsey, now 3 1/2 but then barely 2 years old, held her husband's iPhone. "She pressed the button and it lit up. I just remember her eyes. It was like 'Whoa!' "
The parents were charmed by their daughter's fascination. But then, said Ms. Sykes (herself a BlackBerry user), "She got serious about the phone."
Kelsey would ask for it. Then she'd cry for it. "It was like she'd always want the phone," Ms. Sykes said. After a six-hour search one day, she and her husband found the iPhone tucked away under Kelsey's bed. They laughed. But they also felt vague concern. Kelsey, and her
2-year-old brother, Chase, have blocks, Legos, bouncing balls, toy cars and books galore. ("They love books," Ms. Sykes said.) But nothing compares to the iPhone....