Digital Parenting in Early Childhood: A Mixed-Methods Study on a Sample of Mothers in Saudi Society

Abstract

This study aims to identify the factors affecting digital parenting in early childhood and reveal the strategies mothers use to guide their children’s use of smart devices. The research was conducted with a sample of 272 Saudi mothers whose children, aged 6 years or younger, use smart devices. A mixed interpretive approach was employed, utilizing both a questionnaire and interviews with 7 respondents. The study found that children use smart devices more frequently at home than outside, and that mothers often choose the content, with some involvement from the child. It also identified the separation of social, educational, and financial factors affecting digital parenting, along with social and technical controls that mothers implement to protect their children from the potential risks of smart devices. The study concluded with a discussion of the rules mothers set regarding their children's use of smart devices.

Keywords: Digital Parenting, Socialization, Early Childhood, Social Control