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Updated: Jan 19, 2026
Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
Positive mother-child interactions and parenting styles were associated with lower screen time in early childhood
Khanittha Detnakarintra1, Pon Trairatvorakul1,2, Chandhita Pruksananonda1,2
1Division of Growth and Development, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The Thai Red Cross Society, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Insights
Positive mother-child interactions and authoritative parenting are linked to reduced electronic screen time in children. Early nurturing relationships can decrease future media exposure, promoting healthier development.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Parenting Studies
- Media Psychology
Background:
- Electronic screen time is a growing concern in child development.
- Understanding factors influencing screen time is crucial for parental guidance and child well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term associations between mother-child interactions, parenting styles, and children's electronic screen time.
- To determine the directionality of these relationships over time.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 280 healthy children (mean age 36 months) and their mothers.
- Retrospective data collection from 267 children starting at 6 months of age.
- Path analyses used to assess relationships between mother-child interaction, parenting styles, and screen time at various ages.
Main Results:
- Increased mother-child interaction at 18 months correlated with less screen time at 2 and 3 years.
- Authoritative parenting at 3 years was associated with lower media exposure at 4 years.
- Early screen time was linked to permissive and authoritarian parenting styles later.
Conclusions:
- Early positive mother-child interactions and authoritative parenting are protective factors against excessive screen time.
- Nurturing parenting styles appear to mitigate the negative effects of early media exposure.
Aim:
This study examined long-term associations between mother-child interactions and parenting styles and electronic screen time.
Methods:
We studied 280 healthy children (53.2% girls) enrolled at a mean age of 36 ± 0.4 months from February 2015 to September 2016. The study included retrospective data on 267 children who had been recruited from medical facilities in Thailand at 6 months of age. Mother-child interaction, parenting styles and screen time were assessed at various ages and path analyses were performed to elucidate the directionality and relationships between the variables.
Results:
Increased mother-child interaction at 18 months of age was positively associated with less screen time at 2 and 3 years of age. Likewise, nurturing authoritative parenting at 3 years of age was directly related to lower media exposure at 4 years. The total screen time at younger ages had positive direct relationships with relaxed permissive and strict authoritarian parenting styles, but negative direct relationships with nurturing authoritative parenting in subsequent years.
Conclusion:
Early mother-child interaction and nurturing authoritative parenting were associated with subsequent decreased screen time, while media exposure at the age of two was related to relaxed permissive and strict authoritarian parenting at 3 years of age.
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