In just a few years, it is pretty evident just how much the wish list that’s sent to Santa every Christmas from tots around the world has changed. Remember the days when Beanie Babies, Tamagotchis and Nintendo 64 dominated? Kids’ tastes are now skewing a bit older – and a whole lot more expensive – as tablets, iTouches and eReaders top the list of “must-haves.”

In fact, seven out of 10 kids that live in a tablet-owning home have used a tablet, according to a recent infographic by schools.com. Even more, parents are practically throwing tablets and high-tech gizmos at their kids while they are preoccupied, as 22 percent of parents admitted to giving their kids a smartphone, iPod or iPad to keep them busy.

And with an iPad in tow, who needs a babysitter anymore?

So what are the top ways kids use tablets? According to the infographic, 77 percent use tablets to play downloaded games, 57 percent use them for educational purposes, 55 percent use them for entertainment while traveling, 43 percent use them to watch TV shows and movies, 41 percent rely on them for entertainment at a restaurant or event and 15 percent use tablets for communicating with friends and family.

And if you thought parents were worried about kids’ incessant tablet use, think again; as the infographic (below) suggests 77 percent feel tablets are beneficial to kids and 77 percent think they help with kids’ creativity.

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(Source (News - Alert): Schools.com. Click image to view whole graphic.)

As many education experts will corroborate, tablets are great for educational purposes, mostly because the devices boast countless apps designed for students of all levels; moreover, many apps can be particularly helpful for students with learning disabilities or students identified as Autistic. As a result, more than 25 percent of parents have downloaded apps for their kids to use and more than 600 school districts have decided to hop aboard the tablet bandwagon and implement iPad programs.

In one instance, when fifth graders used Motion Math iPad app, an app that puts the “action in fraction,” teachers saw a 10 percent increase in self efficacy and liking fractions, 15 percent noted that fraction test scores improved and 95 percent noted that their students felt the game was fun and instrumental.

In middle school, apps were found to be just as successful, particularly for kids who used the HMH Fuse iPad app, the world's first educational app for schools developed exclusively for a touchscreen mobile device. Specifically, 78 percent of kids who used the app before their state test scored proficient or advanced as compared to the 59 percent who scored at that level when they used a traditional textbook before the test.