Relationship Between Preschoolers’ Digital Screen Time and Holistic Developmental Skills: Parent’s Toolkit for Balanced Digital Use in Early Childhood

The study investigated the relationship between children’s exposure to digital screen time and their holistic development as preschoolers. It also investigated the relationship between parents’ educational background and their children’s language development and overall development. The study also aimed to develop an evidence-based Parent’s Toolkit for Balanced Digital Use for parents and caregivers of preschoolers. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach was used in the study. In all, 341 parents and caregivers of kindergarten preschoolers were selected using a stratified random sampling approach. Of these, 20 were selected using a purposive sampling approach for the qualitative phase of the study. Descriptive statistics and Welch's one-way ANOVA were employed to analyze the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative responses that informed the development of the Parent's Toolkit for Balanced Digital Use. The qualitative data from the responses of the 20 participants were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis approach. The findings of the study indicated that the preschoolers generally had low to moderate exposure to digital screens. The findings did not support a significant relationship between children’s screen time and their cognitive, language, socio-emotional, physical, and values-based development. However, the findings supported a significant relationship between parents’ educational background and their children’s language development. Seven themes emerged from the qualitative data from the responses of the 20 participants: (1) active parental monitoring; (2) consistent screen-time rules and routines; (3) transition strategies; (4) engaging offline activities; (5) educational and developmentally appropriate screen use; (6) family engagement; and (7) balanced daily routines. These findings informed the development of a practical Parent’s Toolkit for Balanced Digital Use.