Parents’ expectations regarding media use among children up to 6 years of age

Abstract

Aim

To describe parents’ expectations concerning information sources and counseling related to media use by children up to six years of age.

Design

Qualitative descriptive design.

Methods

Data were collected by interviewing the parents (n=20) between January and March 2020. A qualitative content analysis was used.

Results

Three main themes emerged: family media use, parents’ expectations of information and counseling sources, and parents’ expectations of the content of information and counseling. Parents reported that their children’s screen time varied from one to 2 ​h per weekday. Child health clinics and Early Parenthood Education and Care Centers were the most used information and counseling sources related to children’s media use. Parents expected conversations, brochures, and advice for appropriate websites at child health clinics and parents’ evenings. They considered it important to have trustworthy websites where they could search for reliable, current, and empirical information related to children’s media use. Parents expected that the information provided would include children’s media-use recommendations, information regarding the advantages and disadvantages of children’s media use, parents’ responsibility in children’s media use, and parent-child media co-use.