One of the most engaging of our Kids@Play sessions this year took a look at “screentime” and how much is too much (or  too  little) for young kids. One of the presenters, Carly Shuler, of  the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, focused her study on the Apple  iTunes “educational marketplace.”  The study, “ iLearn II: An Analysis of the Education Category on Apple’s App Store” found that among products for the iPhone and iPad in the education category, apps for toddlers/preschoolers experienced the greatest growth – 23 percent – in the last two years. Using a 2009 analysis conducted by the Center as a benchmark, the new market analysis examined nearly 200 top-selling education apps for the iPad and iPhone with the goal of understanding the education app market dynamics and trends. Among the key findings:

• Only 14 percent – one in seven – was tagged for intended school usage.
• The average price of children’s apps has risen by over $1 since 2009, but still is under $2.50.
• 109 different publishers were represented within the sample; 89 of these publishers were not represented in the sample two years ago.

Much like the early days of CD ROMs, the marketplace is glutted by entries in the toddler arena – some better than others. The irony of a device that was created with their parent as the audience, and having so much content for toddlers was not lost on the audience.

For more on the study read this piece on the Huffington Post.