How child-reported family digital rules relate to executive function gains in preschoolers: gendered patterns

The near-universal digital engagement of preschoolers necessitates a nuanced understanding of how family practices shape its cognitive impact. Moving beyond simplistic measures of screen time, this longitudinal study investigated the association between child-reported family digital rules and the development of executive functions over 1 year in kindergarten. A sample of 1,512 children ( M = 5.7 years) was assessed at Time 1, with 1,339 children ( M = 6.6 years) retained at Time 2 1 year later. Children reported on family rules regarding digital device use (time limits, content restrictions, and conditional use rules), while parents reported total screen time. Using regression models predicting later executive function scores while controlling for earlier scores, we found a negative association between content restrictions and cognitive flexibility gains in girls, but not in boys. Conditional use rules showed a trend toward a positive association with inhibitory control gains in girls, and time limits showed no significant association with any executive function component. No rule-related effects emerged for boys. These findings suggest that it may be valuable to consider not only the presence or absence of parental mediation, but also its specific form – the particular types of restrictions and rules that parents apply. Certain rules may be potentially more effective than others, and their effectiveness may also differ between boys and girls.