Smartphones child’s play for techy tots:

New research from Microsoft shows that many children are playing with their Smartphones before they have started school or even learnt to spell their own name.

Young kids are mainly playing with phones for games and entertainment, with 57% of parents who have children under five years reporting that their child started playing with their phone before their fifth birthday and 37% stating their child did so before their third birthday.

The survey, developed with Galaxy Research, reveals that 67% of Australian parents allow their young children to play with their Smartphones for entertainment and admitted it was a way to keep them occupied.

The research also highlighted the need for Smartphones to now be ‘kid proofed’, with one in three parents reporting some sort of mishap with young children using their Smartphone, including accidentally changing settings, deleting contacts, making calls or downloading content their parents did not want them to access.

Microsoft’s research revealed that parents are looking for a way to better manage their child’s phone use, with 55% saying they would like more control over the content their child can access. Two in three parents said they would consider a feature that allows them to restrict or monitor the content their child can access on their Smartphone.

The research comes as Microsoft officially unveiled Windows Phone 8 yesterday, the latest version of the company’s Smartphone operating system, and the world’s most personal Smartphone. Windows Phone 8 brings new features such as Live Apps, Kid’s Corner, Rooms and Xbox Music.

“As a parent I know that children love to play with Smartphones for the games, music and entertainment, and for the most part its good fun,” said Megan Howard, Windows Phone Business Group Lead, Microsoft Australia.

“That is, until they decide to text message your boss on your behalf or find the factory reset button on your phone! For the children in our lives, who also want the awesome Windows Phone experience, we created Kid’s Corner.

“From settings, I can create my Kid’s Corner and then pick their favourite games, input some music or videos and choose some appropriate Apps to keep them entertained.”