by Michelle Stein posted in Parenting

A report released Thursday by Common Sense Media reveals some interesting ? and concerning ? trends about about screen time for kids ages 8 and younger.
The nonprofit organization, which focuses on helping children, parents, and educators thrive in the world of media and technology, released a report titled The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Age Zero to Eight. For this report, 1,454 parents of children 8 and younger took part in an online survey in January and February about how their kids use media. Its findings show that young children are spending an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes per day on screen media.
"The report actually shows that kids' overall media use has stayed about the same since our 2011 report (2:19 versus 2:16). What's changed is how they're using it," James Steyer, chief executive officer and founder of Common Sense Media,  said in an email to CNN. "Mobile is totally taking over ? it now makes up 35 percent of screen time, compared to 4 percent in 2011."
Here are some other key stats from the new report:
? The amount of time 0- to 8-year-olds spend on mobile devices each day has tripled. It's gone from 5 minutes in 2011, to 15 minutes in 2013, to 48 minutes in 2017.
? Nearly half (49 percent)of kids ages 8 and younger have screen time within an hour before bedtime. This includes watching TV, play games, using a smartphone and more, and it goes against pediatricians' recommendations...