Fisher-Price’s new Think & Learn Smart Cycle is designed for screen-addicted toddlers, reports the New York Post.
The $150 kiddie exercycle works with various apps on Apple TV, Android TV and more.
The pitch to parents is that pedaling in front of a screen is educational, writes Susan L.M. Goldberg on PJ Media.
Youngsters who otherwise might be tiny couch potatoes can burn calories — and may even learn a thing or two — thanks to an app included with the bike that incorporates subjects like reading, math, science and social studies. . . . But anyone who has watched their child with an electronic toy knows how quickly they’re able to pick up on simple button-smashing sequencing without ever really processing what they hear when the button is smacked.
Preschool children spend 19 hours a week watching TV or videos, according to a Fisher-Price survey. That amounts to 21 percent of their play time.
From the age of two to five, kids should spend no more than a hour a day consuming “digital media,” recommends the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Maybe toddlers need a $20 trike they can pedal outside?