“It’s too Soon”: Mother’s and Father’s Media Rules and Limits for their 9-month-old Babies

• In Event: Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Topic - Technology, Media & Child Development

Abstract

Nowadays, homes with very young children have many screened devices. However, it is largely unknown what the media habits of infants are and how they might vary when with their mothers and fathers. Although professionals recommend that children under 18 months avoid media use (AAP, 2016). Parents likely expose their children to digital devices at a young age. To date, little of the extant literature has explored or contrasted the media activities and limits that parents use with their infants, especially among ethnically, racially and economically diverse families. However, studies with 3-9 year olds find that parents tend to use time restriction more with elementary-aged children compared to toddlers (Zaman et al., 2016). Considering how parents control media use is important as research finds that even background television or parents’ use of their smartphone can reduce the frequency and quality of parent-child interaction, toy play, and cognitive development (Pempek & Kirkorian, 2020; Ochoa & Reich, 2020). Thus, in considering babies’ media diet, attention should be placed on active use (e.g., playing tablet with parent) and passive use (e.g., TV on during meals), as well as if use varies when children are with their mothers or fathers.
Using a subset of data from a NICHD-funded bilingual (English-Spanish) parenting intervention, we explore mother-and father-reported media use by their 9-month-old child. Specifically, we consider the types of limits and rules first-time parents set (or not) for their 9-month-olds and to what extent mothers and fathers of the same child agree on the media activities and rules. For this, 420 mothers and fathers (n=210 families, see table 1) were asked about their babies’ weekly media use and any limits they applied. Parents rated the frequency of media activities in a typical week (5-pt Likert scale from 1-never to 5- several times a day) and answered an open-ended question about any limits they set for their baby when using media/ electronic devices.
Results indicate that mothers and fathers do not frequently agree about the media activities their child engages in weekly (Table 2). Further, from content coding of open-ended responses, we found that some parents did not allow their child to use media at all. However, many of these parents also stated that the television was almost always or always on, even if no one was watching. Some parents that stated that their child was too young to use media (e.g., “she doesn’t use it at all”) had a partner who reported permitting media use on a regular basis (e.g., “limit to 1 hour a day”). Across parents, the most common type of rule was time limits (ranging from 10 minutes to 3 hours a day).
These findings indicate that by 9 months, many children are engaging with screened media and that use varies when with they are with their mothers or fathers. Efforts to help families develop healthy media diets for their children need to begin when children are very young and include both mothers and fathers.

Authors

• Esmeralda Martin, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Stephanie M Reich, University of California - Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Maria Sauval, University of California - Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Natasha J Cabrera, University of Maryland - College Park
  Non-Presenting Author