Three-quarters of parents with smartphones share apps with their children and more than a third consider them to be an "integral" part of family life, according to a study.
Half of parents (49%) are happy to spend money on apps each month, despite the wealth of those available for free, just four years after the first one was downloaded, the poll of 2,000 parents for Disney found.
The study revealed 75% share apps with their children, 20% spend up to £10 each month and more than half (56%) have downloaded an app at the request of their children, while 37% see them as integral to family life.
More than half of parents (56%) had to have their child teach them how to use apps, while 38% of children had taught their grandparents how to use the technology.
Despite being created specifically for mobile devices, 76% of children play apps most often in the home.
Paul Brown, general manager of Disney's interactive media business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: "This research shows that families are choosing apps as a way to engage in immersive entertainment and we will continue to create and expand our range of mobile storybooks, games and comics to meet this growing demand from families."
In the UK alone, there are around 25.4 million users of app-enabled devices.
The 25 billionth app was downloaded from Apple's App Store in March.
Bryter polled 2,000 adults online between May 17 and 23.
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