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Currently, electronic toys do not seem to promise as much learning as one would expect. Those toys that generate lights, words and songs tend to be linked with reduced quantity and quality of language as compared to books and conventional toys.

Most parents nowadays seem to have limited time to spend with their children, due to work and familial pressures. Optimising the parent-child time is important to enhance their relationships.

Scientists conducted a controlled experiment that involved 26 parent-infant pairs with children who were just 10 to 16 months old. While the parent-infant play time, which was conducted in the children's private homes was not observed, scientists used audio recording equipment to pick up the sound.

They used three sets of toys: "electronic toys, traditional toys, and five board books with farm animal, shape or color themes" according to scienceworldreport.

Playing with electronic toys made children use fewer adult words, scientists found. "There were also fewer conversational turns with verbal back-and-forth, fewer parental responses and less production of content-specific words than when playing with traditional toys or books," according to scienceworldreport.

Moreover, while playing with electronic toys rather than books, children vocalized less.

"These results provide a basis for discouraging the purchase of electronic toys that are promoted as educational and are often quite expensive," write the researchers in a news release. "These results add to the large body of evidence supporting the potential benefits of book reading with very young children."

The findings are published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.