The ultimate treat? Young Israeli children’s media use under their grandparents’ care

ABSTRACT

A substantial effort was made over the years to reveal predictors of children’s screen time in an attempt to suggest effective ways to minimize its negative effects. Studies were mostly based on parents’ reports and ignored other major caregivers, particularly grandparents. Accordingly, this study offers a pioneer exploration of young children’s interactive and non-interactive media use under their grandparent’s care and the factors associated with extensive use. The study was based on an online survey of 356 grandparents of children aged 2–7, who reported taking care of their grandchildren at least once a week.

The study shows that children spend about half of the time under their grandparents’ watch using various media. Use time increased with age and was higher among boys compared to girls. Non-interactive media use was explained by place and duration of care, number of parents’ instructions, bringing a mobile device to the grandparent’s home, having the television on in the background, and grandparents’ mediation efforts. Interactive media use was explained by duration of care and grandparent’s sex, with male grandparents contributing to longer use. These findings raise concerns regarding young children’s media use under their grandparents’ watch, but also suggest effective strategies for its reduction.

KEYWORDS:

• Young children
• grandchildren
• grandparents
• screen time
• interactive media
• mediation

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Ageing + Communication + Technologies (ACT), a research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and housed at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ageing + Communication + Technologies (ACT) [no grant number].

Notes on contributors

Nelly Elias

Nelly Elias (Ph.D. Tel-Aviv University, 2003) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Among her main research interests are media and child development and media in the family life. She is a member of the Learning in a NetworKed Society (LINKS) center of research excellence where she conducts a series of projects on infants’ and toddlers’ media uses in a changing technological environment.

Galit Nimrod

Galit Nimrod (Ph.D. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2003) is Professor at the Department of Communication Studies and a research fellow at the Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Aiming to contribute to the understanding of wellbeing in later life, Dr. Nimrod studies psychological and sociological aspects of leisure, media and technology use among older adults.

Dafna Lemish

Dafna Lemish (Ph.D. Ohio State University, 1982) is Associate Dean of Programs and Professor at the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University of New Jersey, founding editor of the Journal of Children and Media; and a Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA). She is author and editor of numerous books and articles on the role of media in children’s lives and on gender representations and identity, including most recently Fear in Front of the Screen: Children’s Fears, Nightmares, and Thrills From TV (Co-authored, 2019).