TAHLEQUAH — A long time ago, parents looking to assuage unhappy, fidgety children at the grocery store, a restaurant, or in the car would resort to giving them treats, crackers or by singing a song.

Today, many parents simply hand their child their smartphone – specifically, an iPhone.

A recent report by CNN indicates that over have of the top-100 selling “apps” – applications – for the iPhone are geared toward children, and Apple’s iTunes App Store confirms the trend. Currently, there are over 3,400 education apps available at the iTunes store, with a large number of them targeted for children between the ages of 2 and 5.

Carly Schuler, a Cooney Fellow at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop estimates that almost 20 percent of children ages 5-7 use a cell phone. Younger children, she says, are also getting into the act.

“It’s very common to observe what we call the ‘pass-back’ effect, where the parent passes their own device to the child,” said Schuler in an interview with education.com “And it makes sense – parents’ devices like phones have always been amongst children’s favorite ‘toys,’ and as the devices become more functional for adults, they simultaneously get more fun for kids.”

Amanda Lambers has two children, Asia, 6, and Colton, 2. Asia has an iPod Touch loaded with educational applications, and Lamberson has a number of applications geared toward her toddler, including Toddler Teaser Shapes, Toddler Tools Counting, Dr. Seuss’ ABC’s, and The Cat in the Hat.

“I got Asia an iPod for her sixth birthday, but she understands she has to share it with her brother and put it down when I’m talking to her or she won’t get to use it as a consequence,” said Lamberson. “I don’t let my children watch TV much, and when they do, it’s only educational channels like Noggin, or things like that. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to use iPhones and iPods to help teach children.”

While there is a cost to many apps, Lamberson said all the apps she’s loaded for her son have been free.

Schuler indicated the top selling iPhone education app continues to be Wheels on the Bus and that 13 of 20 top paid apps in this area are clearly child-directed.

But are they good for teaching your children?

Schuler said, while some may believe the handheld devices are just another addition to a litany of visual distractions, the potential for learning far outweighs any disadvantages.

“First, these devices are mobile and allow the parent to encourage anywhere, anytime learning,” she said. “The second advantage is that, because of their relatively low cost and ubiquity, these devices allow educators to reach underserved children that are geographically or economically disadvantaged. The third is that these devices can encourage 21st century skills like communication and collaboration.”

Jami Custer has young toddler, and has already downloaded a few free apps for him.

“Being that my son is under the age of 2, he doesn’t quite understand how to use apps off the iPhone,” said Custer. “I have downloaded a few free apps for him. Mostly apps that show pictures of things along with the alphabet. ‘A is for apple,’ etc.”

Custer believes there can be some benefit in allowing a child to use these apps, like any other device.

“However, I also think time on any device should be regulated,” she said. “And there are several books and other materials out there that are useful in teaching children and I think people should remember that and continue to use those, as well. Find a happy medium between computerized and the other. Don’t just put an iPhone in a child’s hand and let him go. Parent-child interaction is vastly important, too.”