CONVENIENT BUT CONFLICTED: PARENTS' EVERYDAY NEGOTIATION OF SCREEN USE AS DIGITAL BABYSITTING

Abstract

The present study examined the parent experiences of the use of digital screens for calming, distracting, entertaining, and/or managing children in their daily family lives. The study was limited to the practice of “digital babysitting,” which means parents entertain children during daily routines with devices like smartphones, tablets, televisions, YouTube, cartoons, and streaming platforms. A qualitative descriptive research design was used. The data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with 30 parents of children between 2 and 8 years old. The parents were selected by purposive sampling with maximum variation. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data, which was conducted in six stages similar to those described by Braun and Clarke. The following four major themes emerged: screens as everyday parenting support, screens as emotional support for parents, screens as a tool for managing children’s behavior, and parents' challenges in establishing rules and boundaries.  The results indicated that parents employed screens not only for their children's entertainment but also to control the parent-child household, work load, public situations, children's tantrums, and parent's stress. Acknowledging the utility of screens in the immediate term, parents also reported feelings of guilt, concern, and struggles for children to decrease screen time. Based on the findings, it is concluded that digital babysitting is a multifaceted parenting phenomenon influenced by the practical, emotional, and contextual factors of family. The results emphasize the importance of providing non-judgmental and realistic guidance that helps parents to use screens more intentionally and mindfully but also provides an opportunity to look at other ways to soothe and engage their child