Screen time for kids under six is often treated as a digital pacifier, but recent studies, like one from the JAMA Pediatrics in 2019, linked excessive use to delayed speech development. I've seen toddlers in my neighborhood glued to tablets during meals, and their parents shrug it off as educational. Yet the evidence on interactive versus passive viewing is mixed—some apps do teach, but many just hijack attention. Should we really hand young children devices when the long-term cognitive effects are still unclear?