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Parental Perception of Infants’ use of Mobile Devices: A Qualitative Exploration

Khalid, Omama and Qamar, Azher Hameed LU (2024) In Child Care in Practice
Abstract
Despite the clear restrictive guidelines about the use of modern handheld devices among children younger than 2 years, parents are seen to extensively use these devices with their infants. However, parents’ perceptions in this regard remain unclear and underexplored especially, in the context of South Asian cultures such as Pakistan. This qualitative study aims to explore parents’ perceptions regarding their infants’ use of mobile devices. Using the purposive sampling technique, 10 couples (i.e. 20 parents) from Pakistan were individually interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Parents with at least two children including one infant (0–2 years) were included. Single parents and parents of children with special needs were... (More)
Despite the clear restrictive guidelines about the use of modern handheld devices among children younger than 2 years, parents are seen to extensively use these devices with their infants. However, parents’ perceptions in this regard remain unclear and underexplored especially, in the context of South Asian cultures such as Pakistan. This qualitative study aims to explore parents’ perceptions regarding their infants’ use of mobile devices. Using the purposive sampling technique, 10 couples (i.e. 20 parents) from Pakistan were individually interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Parents with at least two children including one infant (0–2 years) were included. Single parents and parents of children with special needs were excluded. Findings revealed parents hold mixed opinions regarding the use of mobile devices. Parents expressed negative outcomes of the use of mobile devices, which were categorized into internalizing problems, emotional problems, social interaction problems, and issues in cognitive processing. They also shared positive perceptions, categorized as learning outcomes, and increased cognitive abilities. Based on their first-time parenting experiences, parents expressed both negative and positive outcomes of the use of MDs with infants. A shift in perception was observed based on their first-time parenting experiences. With increased parenting demands, participants shared constant challenges in limiting the screen time of infants, leading to experiencing negative emotions among parents i.e. guilt and worry. This study can be useful among clinicians to consider the effects of the use of mobile devices while making a neurodevelopmental diagnosis. It can also be useful in promoting learning among infants in daycare/childcare centers, in developing parenting manuals, and in developing screen time policies or guidelines. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
Parental perception, infant development, mobile devices, preschool, screen time, digitods
in
Child Care in Practice
pages
16 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
ISSN
1357-5279
DOI
10.1080/13575279.2024.2376581
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f3a21224-65a0-4a2f-a792-84c8b91a5766
date added to LUP
2024-08-09 19:09:06
date last changed
2024-08-15 10:41:22
@article{f3a21224-65a0-4a2f-a792-84c8b91a5766,
  abstract     = {{Despite the clear restrictive guidelines about the use of modern handheld devices among children younger than 2 years, parents are seen to extensively use these devices with their infants. However, parents’ perceptions in this regard remain unclear and underexplored especially, in the context of South Asian cultures such as Pakistan. This qualitative study aims to explore parents’ perceptions regarding their infants’ use of mobile devices. Using the purposive sampling technique, 10 couples (i.e. 20 parents) from Pakistan were individually interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Parents with at least two children including one infant (0–2 years) were included. Single parents and parents of children with special needs were excluded. Findings revealed parents hold mixed opinions regarding the use of mobile devices. Parents expressed negative outcomes of the use of mobile devices, which were categorized into internalizing problems, emotional problems, social interaction problems, and issues in cognitive processing. They also shared positive perceptions, categorized as learning outcomes, and increased cognitive abilities. Based on their first-time parenting experiences, parents expressed both negative and positive outcomes of the use of MDs with infants. A shift in perception was observed based on their first-time parenting experiences. With increased parenting demands, participants shared constant challenges in limiting the screen time of infants, leading to experiencing negative emotions among parents i.e. guilt and worry. This study can be useful among clinicians to consider the effects of the use of mobile devices while making a neurodevelopmental diagnosis. It can also be useful in promoting learning among infants in daycare/childcare centers, in developing parenting manuals, and in developing screen time policies or guidelines.}},
  author       = {{Khalid, Omama and Qamar, Azher Hameed}},
  issn         = {{1357-5279}},
  keywords     = {{Parental perception; infant development; mobile devices; preschool; screen time; digitods}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Child Care in Practice}},
  title        = {{Parental Perception of Infants’ use of Mobile Devices: A Qualitative Exploration}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2024.2376581}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/13575279.2024.2376581}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}