Poster #84 - Putting Parents into the (Media) Equation: A Critique of the AAP Children’s Media Use Recommendations

• In Event: Poster Session 07

Abstract

Mobile devices play an ever-growing dominant role of in the lives of children (Rideout & Robb, 2020; Rideout, 2017). Acknowledging media’s impact on children’s healthy development, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) revised its children’s media use guidelines in 2016. However, the AAP failed to properly recognize the parent/caregiver as a media user, one whose practices in the home also influence child development. Like others, parenting practices in the modern age have evolved and incorporate higher rates of media use around children (Miller, 2019; Wartella et al., 2013). Furthermore, with the drastic increase in media use during Covid19 (Rideout & Robb, 2021), the complex impact of families’ screen use on children remains a crucial issue.

Parental mobile device use (PMU) raises several concerns regarding child development. Firstly, social/cognitive learning theories (Bandura, 1977/1986) indicate that children will observe and mirror negative PMU behaviors, such as inattentiveness, addiction, etc. Yet the most salient impact of PMU is the decrease in parent-child interactions, which are crucial for children’s cognitive development (Piaget, 1983) and facilitating learning opportunities (Reed et al., 2017). Secondly, parental inattentiveness impacts children’s socio-emotional development and the quality of parent-child attachment (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970; Sroufe, 2005). The lack of responsiveness, eye-contact, and facial expressions during PMU risk causing emotional and physical harm due to distress (Tronick et al, 1975; Rozenblatt-Perkal et al., 2022). This also often leads to children’s negative behavior (Elias, 2020; Radesky, 2014), including among preschoolers (McDaniel & Radesky, 2018) and infants (Krapf-Bar et al., 2022). Thirdly, media functions as a source of family stress, and research demonstrates how parental strain impacts children’s well-being (Elder et al., 1985). Despite the negative outcomes of heavy use for adults (Madhav et al, 2017), many turn to media for coping with stress (Nabi et al., 2017; Drouin et al., 2020). Additionally, parents often suffer from a high level of internal guilt and struggle concerning their PMU (Radesky et al, 2016).

Considering these developmental theories, and the AAP overlooking parents/caregivers as key players in the familial media use equation, this paper offers potential modifications and practical tools for parents. These recommendations aim to encourage positive media use modeling and mitigation of the repercussions of PMU-related interruptions:
• Abide by the same media use standards set for your children during designated ‘media free times’, such as dinner time.
• Avoid carrying around devices to physically assist in disconnection (out of sight, out of mind), or by silencing and/or prioritizing notifications using focus-assisting applications.
• When PMU is necessary, narrate actions to both explain and model appropriate media use and to maintain parent-child interaction.
• Schedule media-free activities to ensure PMU-prevention during specific times.
• Trust your instincts and don’t stress about media use as it is more damaging to the family cohesiveness and functioning than the actual media use.

As the world continues to recover from the pandemic and families work towards realigning and balancing their relationship with media, it is important to support them in the effort to cultivate a healthier personal and familial media diet.

Author

• Kalia Vogelman-Natan, Northwestern University
  Presenting Author