Children are actually very adept at using smart technology. According to a recent study by Common Sense Media, 38 percent of children under two have used a mobile device, up 28 percent from 2011. Recently, parents won a class action lawsuit against Apple because it was too easy for their kids to purchase game add-ons while using their mobile phones. So it makes sense that toddlers, already in the "mirror stage" of their development when self-interest is at its highest, would be really, really into selfies.

While the barrage of images may keep distant grandparents happy, it's not yet clear how such a steady diet of self-affirming navel-gazing will affect members of the first truly "smartphone generation." Tot-centric snapshots can help build a healthy self-image and boost childhood memories when handled correctly, but shooting too many photos or videos and playing them back instantly for a demanding toddler could backfire, said Deborah Best, a professor of cognitive developmental psychology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The instant gratification that smartphones provide today's toddlers is "going to be hard to overcome," she said. "They like things immediately, and they like it short and quick. It's going to have an impact on kids' ability to wait for gratification. I can't see that it won't."