Parental mediation of very young children’s early experiences with digital media at home

Digital devices are now found in the majority of homes, including the homes of very young children, and may be said to be a “dominant force” in their lives. This highlights the critical role parents play in mediating their very young children's access to, ownership and use of digital technology in the family home. One of the greatest challenges that parents experience is managing the tension between enhancing their children's digital opportunities and safeguarding them from its potential harms. Referred to as parental digital mediation practices, there is a body of work that both conceptualises these practices and explores their daily lived reality. While there has been a great deal of research around digital technology and parental mediation practices with older children, a stronger research base regarding very young children is needed; not least because there is a growing concern to ensure both digital inclusion and digital safety and privacy. Drawing on findings from a UK-wide study that explored digital ownership, use and parental attitudes and practices, in relation to very young children aged 0–36 months, this paper focuses on parents' perceptions of their mediation practices. The findings suggest that parents proactively mediate their children's use of digital technology using complex, fluid, nuanced and interrelated approaches and strategies. We suggest a new paradigm for capturing this complexity. We end by exploring the implications for research and practice. The study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (Grant Reference ES/W001020/1).