Preschooler’s screen exposure in the relationship between parental involvement and language development in China

Early years children have more opportunities to utilize media, and parents are concerned about their exposure to screens. However, there is a lack of specific suggestions for screen exposure to guide parents on how to limit screen time for preschoolers. This study examined the relationships among screen time, parental involvement, SES, and language development in 386 Chinese preschoolers (5–6 years; 51.3% male, 48.7% female) and their parents (31.1% male, 68.9% female; average age 34.6) in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. This study compared preschoolers with “good, medium, and not good” language skills in their screen exposure time, which 30–40 min is the most recommended screen time for three types of media beneficial for preschooler’s language development. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the internal reliability of the remaining items; the results show home media environment and media-related behaviors achieved internal reliability. Results showed a medium positive effect of parental involvement on language development (f2 = 0.157, p < 0.05) and a significant positive impact onscreen exposure (f2 = 0.744, p < 0.05). Screen exposure moderately positive influenced language development (f2 = 0.251, p < 0.05) and largely mediated the relationship between parental involvement and language development. Parent’s socio-economic status did not moderate these relationships.