Associations between parenting styles and excessive screen usage in preschool children

Area of Science:

• Child Development
• Pediatric Health
• Parenting Studies

Background:

• Preschoolers face increasing exposure to digital devices.
• Parental guidance on screen time is often recommended but not always followed.
• Understanding the link between parenting and screen habits is crucial for child well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between different parenting styles and excessive screen time in preschool children.
• To identify specific parenting behaviors linked to high and low screen exposure.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional descriptive study design.
• Inclusion of preschool children categorized by screen exposure (low: <1 hour, excessive: >4 hours).
• Data collection via self-completion surveys including the Parent Attitude Scale administered to mothers.

Main Results:

• Mothers with authoritative (democratic) parenting styles showed association with low screen exposure (AOR: 0.3).
• Overprotective and permissive parenting subscales were significantly associated with excessive screen exposure (AOR: 2.8 and 4.5, respectively).
• Factors like increased children, household size, maternal unemployment, birth order, and home-based care were higher in the excessive screen group.

Conclusions:

• Excessive screen time in preschoolers may signal underlying parent-child relationship issues.
• Fostering positive parent-child relationships is a key strategy for managing children's screen time effectively.