Smartphone apps are not useful in making babies smart, according to a complaint filed by an advocacy group to the US Federal Trade Commission.
The complaint against two toys-manufacturing giants, Fisher-Price Inc. and Open Solutions, alleged that the companies tricked parents into thinking that online games would make their toddlers smart, reported the Associated Press.
The Boston-based group, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said that all research points to the fact that education through screens is not fruitful.
"The research shows that machines and screen media are a really ineffective way of teaching a baby language. What babies need for healthy brain development is active play, hands-on creative play and face-to-face," said Susan Linn, the director of the group. She said that they filed a complaint against the two companies because their baby apps were popular among the parents and they represented a growing trend of deceptive marketing practices by app developers.
The group's claims led consumer refunds for the 'Baby Einstein' videos . They also requested the investigators to inspect the marketing practices of Fisher-Price's 'Laugh & Learn' mobile apps and Open Solutions' games such as 'Baby Hear and Read' and 'Baby First Puzzle.'
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood alleged that Fisher-Price claimed that 'Laugh & Learn Where's Puppy's Nose?' app can teach a baby about body parts and language and its other app 'Learning Letters Puppy' was helpful in teaching babies on the alphabet and counting to 1.
A research done by Pew Internet and American Life Project said that over half of U.S. adults own a smartphone and nearly third of adults own a tablet.
According to the federal law of the country, no advertisement should mislead consumers and should be backed by scientific evidence in some cases.
