Psychological literacy of parents of preschool children in an information-saturated environment (the case of Kazakhstan)

<p><strong>Context and relevance<em>.</em></strong> Parental psychological literacy is increasingly recognized as a key factor in shaping children’s developmental environments. In the context of early childhood education reform in Kazakhstan, parents’ roles are evolving from passive observers to active participants in the educational process. Given that the Kazakhstani educational system provides instruction in both Russian and Kazakh, it is essential for the study to consider the linguistic affiliation of parents. <strong>Objective.</strong> This study aims to assess the level of psychological literacy among parents of preschool children, as well as their information-seeking behavior and interaction with specialists. <strong>Hypotheses.</strong> The difficulties of parents in working independently with a child are related to the degree of satisfaction of the need for professional support. The language of parents influences the formation of psychological literacy, the choice of information and its use. The type of information sources affects the frequency of parents' visits to specialists. The frequency of communication with specialists correlates with the assessment of the effectiveness of the methods used by parents at home. <strong>Methods<em>.</em></strong> An online survey was conducted among 457 parents of preschool-aged children from Almaty, Kazakhstan (266 Russian-speaking group and 191 Kazakh-speaking group). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis were used. <strong>Results<em>.</em></strong> Kazakh-speaking parents report higher psychological information consumption and a stronger tendency to seek help, particularly in emotionally uncertain situations. Russian-speaking parents showed little correlation between difficulties and professional outreach. No significant relationship was found between information source types and need for support. Perceived method effectiveness was not associated with frequency of interaction with specialists. <strong>Conclusions<em>.</em></strong> Findings indicate an institutional gap: despite high information availability, parents act in isolation even when they struggle to apply knowledge in practice. There is a need for a culturally relevant, structured support system to help parents interpret and implement developmental guidance.</p>