Managing Screen Use in the Under-Fives: Recommendations for Parenting Intervention Development

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Child Development
• Media Psychology

Background:

• Excessive screen use in childhood is a public health concern, with many international recommendations for limiting screen time.
• Most parents and children do not adhere to existing screen use guidelines, particularly for young children under five.
• Current research often overlooks parenting factors and focuses on older children and environmental aspects, hindering intervention development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review key factors influencing screen use in children under five years old.
• To summarize existing interventions for healthy screen use in early childhood.
• To propose a conceptual model integrating parenting and socio-ecological factors for young children's screen use.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of factors associated with screen use in young children.
• Summary of evidence-based interventions for healthy screen use.
• Development of a conceptual model linking parenting and environmental factors to screen use.

Main Results:

• Identified numerous barriers parents face in establishing healthy screen use habits with young children.
• Highlighted the limited focus on parental involvement and young children in existing intervention research.
• Proposed a novel conceptual model to guide future research and intervention strategies.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive model incorporating parenting and environmental factors is needed to understand and address young children's screen use.
• Future interventions should prioritize parental involvement and target younger age groups.
• The proposed model can inform the design of longitudinal studies and effective intervention programs.