How caregivers perceive and mediate children’s books featuring media characters in the United States

ABSTRACT

Caregivers manage pre-school children’s media choices; however, most research has examined electronic and digital media, while books remain the predominant medium for this age group. We explore how caregivers perceive and mediate children’s books, with an emphasis on those portraying popular media characters, through two qualitative studies. Through non-participant observation at the public library, we capture how caregivers and children negotiate and choose books. While a few caregivers employed restrictive mediation, most valued children’s book choices, irrespective of content. Our interview study of parents largely supports the findings of our observation study. Some parents revealed their concerns about age-inappropriate or problematic characters and passively avoided the books with those characters. However, parents primarily respected their children’s book preferences. The ways in which caregivers shape their children’s media and book reading are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Children’s books
• reading
• parental mediation
• media characters
• non-participant observation
• interviews

Acknowledgment

We thank Ciara Reilly and Simran Devidasani, who undergraduate students who helped conduct observations and provide insight that greatly assisted the research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Notes on contributors

Regina Jihea Ahn

Regina Jihea Ahn (M.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is a doctoral student in the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ahn’s research focuses on how young children understand and process advertising messages and how parent-child interaction influences children’s media literacy. She also explores how hybridizing entertainment and advertising shapes consumer socialization of children.

Michelle R. Nelson

Michelle R. Nelson (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is a professor in the Department of Advertising and Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Nelson’s research focuses on persuasion knowledge and advertising literacy as well as new technology and brands. Nelson has published more than 70 book chapters and articles in journals such as Journal of Advertising and Journal of Consumer Psychology.