Ed tech sharpens tender minds, but ...

Stuffed dolls and sandbags - those were my playthings when I was a kid. I must have been from Venus. My 10-year-old nephew is from Earth for sure. His toys are a smart watch, iPad and, wait for it, a small, intelligent robot.

He is just in his third grade at the primary school, but technology is part and parcel of his life already. And technology is also transforming how young parents care for their children.

My elder brother's wife told me as a child, she didn't have many tech products for toys. When her son (my nephew) turned 5, she promptly gifted him a smart learning pad.