US Edition 
Parents punish naughty children by taking away their iPads - survey
Once naughty children would be sent to bed without any supper, but now parents have turned to confiscating their iPads and smartphones to punish them.
Eight out of ten parents with children aged 14 or under say restricting their offspring’s use of gadgets is their preferred form of discipline, a survey found.
Youngsters saw having their tablets and phones taken away as the worst method of punishment because it stopped them from communicating with their friends.
Half of mothers and fathers have bought their children hi-tech equipment, but nearly three-quarters felt they were too attached to the devices.
The average child spends nearly two hours a day on their gadgets and a quarter use them for more than four hours, according to the research for online retailer Pixmania.
Even toddlers are becoming fans of cutting-edge technology, with one in ten children under four using a tablet.
The flipside of the ever-growing popularity of iPads and smart phones among youngsters is that removing them can cause bad behaviour.
Six out of ten parents have experienced sulks, tears and tantrums when their children were told they had to put away their gadgets.
A majority of mothers and fathers said it was important for children to have access to computer equipment so they would be familiar with new technology from an early age.
The most popular devices were games console, owned by 46 per cent of children, followed by MP3 players and smartphones, which were each owned by 30 per cent, the survey found.
Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of Pixmania, said there had been a “steady rise” in children being bought their own hi-tech devices, leading to new family tensions.
He said: "Gadgets such as tablets and smartphones provide both a method of communication and a form of entertainment, so when parents remove them, this becomes a double whammy."