Yup. Just give them a tablet without any games and network connection, load it up with text, music or some (foreign) language phrasebook that you'd want them to learn. They'll get bored very quickly, but if they don't they learn something new. It's a win either way.

Yes, it will become exactly the same as any other educational toy. They play a bit and then stop.

And even if you put games there, games are not created equals. Some games make them happy, engaged and they stop playing them fairly easy. Other games makes them grumpy, angry and they will act out when you want them to end.

Not true in my experience. My 2-year old is addicted to the screen itself.

It can be videos of cartoons of course, but also videos of trains, trucks, animals, sometimes she finds a programming-related conference I'm watching interesting (less interesting than a cartoon, but interesting enough to pay attention).