A new report published by the NPD Group claims children engage with smartphones, tablets or portable media players around five days a week, with each session lasting an average of just under an hour.

The stats – drawn from Kids and Apps: A New Era of Play – also suggest the most popular apps for kids are games, with children installing an average of 6.5 titles on each mobile device.

Girls and boys

NPD claims gender is an issue, with boys being "significantly more likely to be game players than girls", coming in at 87 percent to 80 percent.

Girls, however, install a more wide variety of apps than boys.

"The wide variety and sheer volume of free entertainment content available for app devices is clearly having an impact on kids and the way they play," said analyst Anita Frazier of the results.

"While there are a number of engaging and entertaining apps available to kids, many are used and abandoned after a short time, so it’s important to get a clear, factual picture of the role that apps are playing in kids' lives."

The body notes games are also the most frequently paid for apps for children, making up 35 percent of all paid releases. However, all the apps paid for tend to be "relatively inexpensive."

[source: NPD]