Exploring Screen Management Practices for Families with Young Children

Winning the battle against excessive screen time is challenging, considering the emergence of new, exciting, and engaging screen content. From the use of applications such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Roblox, users have different reasons for interacting with screen devices. Several public health issues caused by excessive screen time have become a critical concern with many adverse effects, especially for children. We conducted an interview study with both parents and children to understand the current practices and challenges in screen time management. Several approaches have been identified to manage and reduce screen time, including parental control, self-monitoring, setting daily limits, and verbal agreement. Most of these approaches involve a large commitment from both parents and children and a lack of motivation from the children to comply. Effective solutions are needed to help parents and children work together by empowering children to make healthy and productive decisions regarding screen use.