The study found that 8.5 percent of children aged 0-3 had their own device, while 27.9 percent regularly used a parent's smartphone.
Among children aged 4-6, 19.4 percent had their own phone and 47.1 percent regularly used a parent's.
The survey was carried out by research agency Fast Solutions with support from KidsAlert, a child online-safety project run by the Prospołeczna Foundation, a Polish NGO.
It questioned 1,131 parents and caregivers online between July 28 and August 4.
The figures are based on parents' declarations rather than measurements of children's device use. Parents with more than one child were asked about the child who used the internet and screens most, most often the oldest.
The report found that smartphones are introduced well before school age, often to calm a child, occupy their attention or relieve boredom.
"Small children do not buy themselves phones or secretly turn on tablets. Adults give them these devices," family sociologist and cybersecurity expert Justyna Balcewicz wrote in a commentary accompanying the report.
Internet use also becomes independent at an early age.
Parents said 9.1 percent of children aged 0-3 used the internet without an adult present. That rose to 35.5 percent among 4–6-year-olds and 73.3 percent among children aged 7-9. By the early school years, 52 percent of the children described in the survey had their own smartphone.
Parents estimated that almost half of 4–6-year-olds spent at least an hour online on a typical weekday, rising to 56.1 percent at weekends.
Among 10–13-year-olds, 62.1 percent were reported to spend at least three hours online during weekend days.
For teenagers aged 14-18, 24 percent spent five hours or more online on weekdays and 38.9 percent did so at weekends.
The study also found that parents relied heavily on technical controls. Among parents of 10–13-year-olds, 76.8 percent used filters or blocking tools, 82 percent checked their children's activity history and 88.2 percent required permission before new apps or services could be installed.
Regular conversation appeared less common.
Just over half, 51.1 percent, said they often or always talked with 10–13-year-olds about interesting things they had seen online. Among parents of 14–18-year-olds, the figure fell to 33.8 percent.
"Installing a filter takes five minutes. A relationship cannot be built in one evening, so conversation should be regular rather than something that happens only in an emergency," cybersecurity expert Klaudia Topolska wrote.
The survey also examined parents' own smartphone habits.
Depending on the child's age, between about 59 and 68 percent admitted that they sometimes ignored a child seeking their attention because they were occupied with their phone. Among parents of 7–9-year-olds, 15.8 percent said this happened often or always.
"It is difficult to teach children to put down their phones if we ourselves show them that every free moment should be filled with a screen," said Kinga Szostko of the Prospołeczna Foundation and KidsAlert.
Szostko said adults also needed to reconsider how early they use smartphones as a solution to boredom or demands for attention. "It is time to stop treating the phone as a free babysitter," she wrote.
Parents also expressed broad support for government restrictions.
Depending on the child's age, between 63.6 and 74.8 percent supported banning pupils from using smartphones on school premises. Between 63.2 and 71 percent backed legal restrictions on social media use by children under 15.
Psychologist and cybersecurity expert Paweł Zegarow cautioned that regulation could provide safety rules but could not replace digital skills, critical thinking or preparing children to deal with the online world independently.
Since September 1, pupils at public and private primary schools in Poland have been barred from using mobile phones during lessons, breaks and other school activities. The ban also covers classes held away from school premises, such as physical education at outside sports facilities.
Rules are stricter for preschool children, who are prohibited from bringing such devices into preschools.
The nationwide ban does not cover secondary schools. Each secondary school may introduce a ban if it chooses.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR/PAP