ArticleBMC public health2018
Mothers' and father's perceptions of the risks and benefits of screen time and physical activity during early childhood: a qualitative study.
Article in BMC public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Impact of Modifiable Parenting Factors on the Screen Use of Children Five Years or Younger: A Systematic Review.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring the perception of parents on children's screentime: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.Pediatric research · 2023Pooled it
- Perceptions of physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines among end-users and stakeholders: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Parental Perceived Stress and Its Association With Childhood Obesity in Spain: The PASOS Study.Preventing chronic disease · 2026Article
- A Pilot mHealth Text Messaging Program Targeting Parents During the First 2000 Days: Nonrandomized Repeat Cross-Sectional Analysis to Evaluate Feasibility, Engagement, Acceptability, and Potential Effectiveness.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Parenting in the Digital Era: Quantitative and Qualitative Insights from Families of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A qualitative study examining household context and parental perspectives on preschoolers' digital media use guidelines.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Evolving media use in early childhood: parental motivations and their impact on child development.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Parental concern and multiple dimensions of preschool children's digital media use: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Mothers' Perspectives on Physical Activity Co-Participation With Young Children: Examining Thoughts and Racial Differences.Child: care, health and development · 2026Article
- Parental perceptions of preschooler screen time and physical activity in Chennai.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Parental Perspectives on the Use of Smartwatch Activity Trackers by Young Children: Qualitative Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2025Article
- Sleep Duration and Screen Time in Young Children with Mild Language Delays.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Parents' perceptions and experiences of physical activity in childhood cancer survivors in Singapore: a qualitative study.Singapore medical journal · 2025Article
- A separate set of guidelines for screen time used for recreation versus education-The need of hour for a child's education in post-COVID era.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Associations between nature exposure, screen use, and parent-child relations: a scoping review.Systematic reviews · 2024Article
- Article
- Multistakeholder Perspectives on the Determinants of Family Fundamental Movement Skills Practice: A Qualitative Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- From "online brains" to "online lives": understanding the individualized impacts of Internet use across psychological, cognitive and social dimensions.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2024Article
- The use of mass media by mothers and its association with their children's early development: comparison between urban and rural areas.BMC public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThis study sought to explore mothers' and fathers' perceptions of the risks and benefits of screen time and active play during early childhood.
methodsIn-depth semi structured telephone interviews were conducted with mothers and fathers (n = 28) of children aged 3-5 years who had earlier taken part in a larger quantitative study in Australia and identified willingness to be re-contacted were recruited. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using NviVo. Coding was performed to produce themes. Quotes were extracted from the transcripts to illustrate common responses. COREQ guidelines for qualitative papers were followed.
resultsParents reported active play was beneficial for many health and developmental outcomes such as imagination, enjoyment and socialisation, while reporting risks such as safety and stranger danger. There were mixed perceptions of screen time, with benefits such as learning, education and relaxation, and risks including habit formation, inappropriate content, negative cognitive and social outcome, and detriments to health being reported. A few differences between mothers' and fathers' perceptions were evident.
conclusionThis study identified that some parental perceptions of benefits and risks of screen time and active play were consistent with published evidence, while others were contradicted by current evidence. Future studies should consider evidence-based education to ensure parents are aware of evidence-based outcomes of children's behaviours. Interventions may wish to capitalise on parents perceived benefits to enhance engagement.
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