The new research from market research company Childwise has found that three quarters of under-fives have access to a connected device, such as a tablet, phone, PC or laptop, compared to 23 percent in 2009.
This year marks ten years since the Childwise pre-school survey began, and the changing technological landscape is reflected in the findings.
Under-fives now spend more than two- and- a half hours watching video content per day in total, up from just over two hours in 2009.
Access to media is still predominantly via a traditional TV set, but by the age of three, tablets are beginning to challenge traditional TV viewing in the peak evening slot, the report found.
CBeebies remains the most popular TV channel among pre-schoolers, with an audience share more than twice that of any other listed channel.
However, more than eight in ten households with pre-school children also have access to on-demand services, according to the research, which also found that uptake was beginning to stabilise following several years of rapid growth.
Subscription-based service Netflix was 2019’s most popular destination for pre-school content, moving ahead of YouTube for the first time.
Other findings include:
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