Young children's screen time: The complex role of parent and child factors

Many children are spending more time with screen media than has been recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. There is evidence that parent television use is associated with higher levels of child television time, but we know little about what predicts children's media use with other...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied developmental psychology Vol. 36; pp. 11 - 17
Main Authors: Lauricella, Alexis R., Wartella, Ellen, Rideout, Victoria J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Inc 01.01.2015
Subjects:
Children
Media
Mobile devices
Parents
Screen time
Media
Screen time
Mobile devices
Children
Parents
ISSN:0193-3973, 1873-7900
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Many children are spending more time with screen media than has been recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. There is evidence that parent television use is associated with higher levels of child television time, but we know little about what predicts children's media use with other technology. Using a nationally representative sample of more than 2300 parents of children ages 0–8, children's time spent with four digital media devices – television, computers, smartphones, and tablet computers – was examined. Results from linear regression analyses indicate across all four platforms that parents' own screen time was strongly associated with child screen time. Further analyses indicate that child screen time use appears to be the result of an interaction between child and parent factors and is highly influenced by parental attitudes. Results suggest that policymakers should consider the family environment as a whole when developing policy to influence children's screen media use at home. •Parent screen time is the strongest predictor of child screen time.•Parent screen time and parent attitudes influence child screen time.•Child screen time varies as a function of child age and by device.
ISSN:0193-3973
1873-7900
DOI:10.1016/j.appdev.2014.12.001