Toddlers using, breaking parents’ mobile devices more

A study conducted in June by SquareTrade, a San Francisco-based warranty protection company, found that more than 50 percent of American parents have had their mobile phones, laptops, tablets and other devices damaged by their kids. Such damage has cost parents more than $2.8 billion in repairs and replacements, the study found.

The study found that 85 percent of kids in America use mobile devices for an average of 3.2 hours a day. It also found kids of all ages use devices a surprisingly high number of hours:

• Toddlers 2 and under use devices for an average of 1.5 hours per day
• Kids 3-6 use devices for an average of 1.8 hours per day
• Kids 7-12 use devices for an average of three hours per day
• Teens 13-17 use devices for an average of 4.9 hours per day

During that time, parents see frequent damage and misuse of their devices, including naughty pictures and a high number of food and drink related accidents:

• 31 percent of parents said their kids have accidentally called or message someone they weren’t supposed to on their parent’s device.
• 28 percent of parents said their kids purchased something on their device without permission.
• 33 percent of parents said their kid-caused accidents involved food or drink. Milk was responsible for 50 percent of those accidents.
• 9 percent of parents said their kids took inappropriate photos on their parent’s device.