As more and more families look to a computer or tablet screen rather than to the TV for entertainment and as more and more children start using mobile devices as high-tech toys, companies are taking bigger steps to ensure younger users can swipe left or right without any nasty surprises.
When it comes to the positive or negative effects of exposing younger children to tablets, smartphones and e-readers, the consensus in the scientific community is that there is no consensus.
But although the jury is still out, it hasn't in any way hindered tech and TV companies from attempting to take more responsibility in terms of providing suitable content and giving parents greater control over how their children interact with devices like tablets.
The latest company to do so is Nickelodeon. It already has educational and entertainment apps but on March 5 will be launching a new premium app, called Noggin. It will offer pre-school children a library of appropriate content selected from the channel's exciting programming along with interactive educational games. Noggin will cost $5.99 a month and will initially launch as an app for the iPhone and iPad.
The idea behind the app is to help ‘cord-cutters' find suitable content simply -- Nickelodeon's shows usually require cable TV subscription but families are increasingly ditching pay-tv in favor of internet streaming, YouTube playlists or apps.
And it's for this reason that Netflix this week announced it is adding six new children's series to its lineup in 2015 including in-house remakes of "Inspector Gadget "and cult British kids' cartoon, "Danger Mouse."
YouTube is also getting in on the act. As the world's number one online video destination -- 1 billion unique monthly visitors and counting -- it better than any tech company understands its appeal to the younger generation and the fear that parents have of accidentally cuing up a clip that's not what it appears to be.
On Wednesday it officially launched its YouTube Kids app in the U.S. which offers suitable curated content across subjects including education and music and also comes packed with a host of parental controls for limiting access or setting a time limit on viewing.
This month also saw Vine, the company that bought animated and looping gifs back into fashion, launch a dedicated kid's version of its app.
Called Vine Kids, it promises ease of use, quirky sounds and is aimed at children as young as two-years-old. It went live on Apple's App Store for the iPhone and iPad on February 2 and an Android version is expected later in the year.
