ABSTRACT
The aim of this article is to analyse the role of the home environment (parents, older siblings, and smart devices) in young children’s touch-screen use. Furthermore, we aim to provide some recommendations for pre-school teachers on enhancing closer collaboration between the home and pre-school and suggestions on how they can support parents in regulating their children’s media use. In addition, we will discuss the changes needed in the national curriculum for pre-school child care institutions in order to implement educational opportunities. This article is based on the data collected from two empirical studies, both of which mapped parents’ opinions of touch-screen use amongst 0–3 year olds and provided insight into the role of parent and sibling mediation in toddlers’ touch-screen use. The findings indicate that parents and siblings are important role models whose touch-screen use practices have a considerable impact on infants and toddlers. Both parents and siblings take on various roles when guiding young children’s touch-screen use but also combine different mediation strategies.
