A qualitative exploration of parental attitudes and strategies in mediating 10–11-year-old children’s screen use during leisure time

Children increasingly spend their leisure time on screens while face-to-face interactions with peers decrease. Parents are important in mediating and monitoring children’s screen use. This study explores parents’ attitudes and strategies when mediating 10–11-year-old children’s screen use during leisure time. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 parents of 10–11-year-old children from three Danish schools (October to December 2021) and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings are organized into two overarching themes. ‘Navigating’ describes the cyclical and energy-demanding nature of parental strategies where considerations about content or context often complicate initial decisions about screen time. ‘Balancing’ illustrates how parents view screen use as a way for their child to mentally and physically relax, while also encouraging analogue activities to maintain a healthy leisure time balance. The findings highlight the complex challenges parents face, as rule enforcement is effortful and may lead to conflicts. Future research should explore ways to support parents in aligning their values with children’s digital interests, promoting harmonious and balanced screen use practices within families. Innovative approaches are needed to empower parents in effectively navigating the evolving digital landscape.