A pathway toward positive digital parenting: how screen exposure quality relates to preschoolers' socio-emotional competence

Screen time duration often dominates discussions of modern childhood, yet the quality of children's digital engagement may be equally consequential. This study examined how screen exposure quality relates to preschoolers' socio-emotional competence through a moderated mediation model involving parent-child conflict and nature connectedness. Using data from 508 Chinese preschoolers, we found that screen exposure quality was positively associated with socio-emotional competence, and that lower parent-child conflict partly accounted for this association. Nature connectedness amplified this indirect pathway, such that the negative link between parent-child conflict and socio-emotional competence was stronger among children with higher nature connectedness. These patterns held after controlling for individual resilience. The findings suggest that children's socio-emotional development in the digital age may benefit from attention to the interplay among screen habits, family relationships, and connections to the natural world.