Volume 6, Issue 4 (Vol 6, No 4 (22)- In Press 2026)
2026, 6(4): 610-629 |
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Ethics code: A-10-421-1
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Shahshshavazi Z, Taghipour F, Mazidi Sharaf Abadi A M. (2026). Parents' Lived Experience of Digital Parenting in Exposure to Screen Media. Journal of Childhood Health and Education. 6(4), 610-629. doi:10.32598/JECHE.6.4.421.1
URL: http://jeche.ir/article-1-376-en.html
URL: http://jeche.ir/article-1-376-en.html
1- Department of Communication Sciences, may. c., Islamic Azad University, Maybod, Yazd, Iran.
2- Department of Communication Sciences, Institute of Market and business, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
2- Department of Communication Sciences, Institute of Market and business, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
Abstract: (165 Views)
Background and Aim Screen media have become an integral part of young children's daily lives. Parents, especially in different work and family situations, use these media as a problem-based coping strategy to calm the child, reduce tantrums, fill free time, and manage busyness. The aim of this study was to explore the lived experience of parents of digital upbringing of children in the face of screen media and identify the dimensions and challenges of digital upbringing in the context of the Iranian family.
Research Methods The study was conducted with a qualitative approach and the Claise phenomenological method. The sample included 15 parents of children aged 0 to 7 years who were selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then extracted through coding and content analysis.
Results Grandmothers and nurses play a prominent role in facilitating children's access to media, and screens act as a "digital cradle" for them. The main themes obtained from the research included challenges of digital parenting, attitudes of digital parents, digital cradle, digital teacher child, digitalized parents, digital parenting styles. The findings showed that media parenting is shaped by the simultaneous influence of family circumstances, parental attitudes, and intergenerational facilitators.
Discussion Parents had ambivalent attitudes toward media; some presented it as an opportunity for learning and entertainment, while others referred to consequences, such as media addiction, isolation, and poor social skills. The experience of “parental digitalization” also expressed a sense of backwardness toward children and a clear generational gap. The concepts of “digital cradle” and “digital teacher child” also referred to the function of media in calming children and situations where children played the role of technology teacher, respectively.
Research Methods The study was conducted with a qualitative approach and the Claise phenomenological method. The sample included 15 parents of children aged 0 to 7 years who were selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then extracted through coding and content analysis.
Results Grandmothers and nurses play a prominent role in facilitating children's access to media, and screens act as a "digital cradle" for them. The main themes obtained from the research included challenges of digital parenting, attitudes of digital parents, digital cradle, digital teacher child, digitalized parents, digital parenting styles. The findings showed that media parenting is shaped by the simultaneous influence of family circumstances, parental attitudes, and intergenerational facilitators.
Discussion Parents had ambivalent attitudes toward media; some presented it as an opportunity for learning and entertainment, while others referred to consequences, such as media addiction, isolation, and poor social skills. The experience of “parental digitalization” also expressed a sense of backwardness toward children and a clear generational gap. The concepts of “digital cradle” and “digital teacher child” also referred to the function of media in calming children and situations where children played the role of technology teacher, respectively.
Keywords: Digital education, Digital parenting, Intergenerational facilitators, Digital cradle, Screen, Children
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
General
Received: 2025/10/2 | Accepted: 2026/01/3 | Published: 2026/01/3
Received: 2025/10/2 | Accepted: 2026/01/3 | Published: 2026/01/3
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