For a child, technology plays many roles: teacher, babysitter, playmate and pacifier

More than half of all children ages 8 and younger have access to a mobile device at home, either a smartphone (41 percent), a video iPod (21 percent), or an iPad or other tablet (8 percent), according to a recent study by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding and educating families about media and technology. More than a quarter (29 percent) of all parents have downloaded apps for their children.

Research has shown that kids engaged in interactive media appear to retain information better than their peers who passively watch.