Nurturing Early Learners in the Digital World: A Parental Perspective

Young children of today are raised in the omnipresence of media. Normatively, children of 4 to 6 years old are expected to reach a plethora of developmental milestones, which are typically classified under the domains of Aesthetics and Creative Expression (1), Discovery of the World (2), Language and Literacy (3), Motor Skills Development (4), Numeracy (5), and Social and Emotional Development (6). Through qualitative interviews with 21 parents, this study investigated how parents wielded digital devices to foster children’s development in these key domains, but deliberately ring-fenced them from pernicious use.

The study uncovered that parents intentionally utilised digital devices to facilitate children’s learning. YouTube videos were astronomically employed to nurture development in domains like dance (1), vocabulary (3), self-help skills (4), and numbers (5). Moreover, a parent cultivated her children’s delayed gratification by wielding digital devices as incentives (6). Additionally, numerous children were permitted to consume from age-appropriate content like YouTube Kids, consequently stimulating children’s self-discovery (2), which some parents viewed sublimely. For instance, a child after consuming age-appropriate content – discovered a new scientific word which translated into an interest in volcanic science.

Furthermore, this study divulged favourable secondary and multiplier effects of digital use. For example, some children who watched cartoons on digital devices, petitioned for their parents to purchase related toys for them to play with their siblings; unequivocally, nurturing their motor skills (playing of toys) and social and emotional development (interacting with siblings). Some parents also found that watching popular children programmes graced their children with conversational topics with their peers in school, which in turn developed their language.

Surprisingly, while many studies have cautioned the unbridled digital media use for young children, this study found that parents were generally cognisant of such dangers; they had intentionally, and successfully employed digital devices to develop their child.