Parental attitudes towards the use of digital devices in the family for the development of older preschoolers

Author: Belova E., Shumakova N., Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education (Russia)

Keywords

Parents, preschool children, digital devices, development

Abstract

At preschool age of children, parents have a crucial influence on their development. In this regard, the study of the issues of childhood digitalization determines the importance and relevance of their consideration in the context of family education. The purpose of the study was to study the attitude of parents to the use of digital devices in the family for the development of senior preschoolers. Participants: 273 pаrents and their children (137 boys, 136 girls; Mage=6.78, SD=0.33) from Moscow. Methods: survey of parents (included questions about both parents). Express-Diagnostics of Intellectual Abilities and special technique for revealing the creative and intellectual potential were used for children. Results. The attitude of modern parents to the use of digital devices for the development of older preschoolers is characterized by a variety of opinions. 4% of parents believe that interaction with a digital device is harmful to the health and development of the child. But the majority of parents (96%) positively assess its influence on the preschoolers’ development. Three groups of parents were divided according to the frequency of a digital device use by children: 1 - rarely; 2 - moderately; 3 - often. The consensus of both parents was observed in 64.88% of families, while in slightly less than half of them (45.29%) parents were in favor of rare interactions with digital devices. An analysis of the parents’ choice of digital content showed that they are mainly aimed at developing the child’s cognitive sphere by computer programs developing logical thinking (69.8%), memory (50.7%), etc. The diagnostics of the children development showed the importance of the frequency of a digital device use for their intellectual development: it is higher in children of those parents who considered it better for preschoolers to use digital devices 1-2 times a week for developmental purposes.

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