Lots of parents do it: they hand their child a smartphone when they just want to have some peace and quiet.
On long car journeys, when the babbling and whining bothers you or when you want to do something else while looking after the children.
The smartphone is a guarantee of success for silence.
Most parents know that they are not necessarily doing their offspring any good. However, if you delve deeper into the debate about digital devices for children, it becomes clear that letting small children use smartphones, laptops and the like can do them massive harm - even into adolescence.