Preschool Children's Use of Tablet at Home and Parents' Views

Abstract

This chapter investigated young children's use of tablets at home and parents' views on tablet benefits and their concerns. A questionnaire was completed by the parents of 100 children aged 4-6. Young children engage in a range of activities such as playing games (76%), watching cartoons (75%), listening to music (65%), watching videos (60%), and using educational apps (54%). Fewer children look at pictures/photos/books or take pictures, while visiting websites and using email are never carried out by most of the children. Gender and age had an occasional isolated impact on children's tablet activities. 4-5 year olds tend to do tablet activities with an adult, while 5.5-6.5 year olds with siblings or alone. Most parents “agree and strongly agree” that tablets “teach basic technology skills” (85%), “teach foreign languages”, and “can make learning fun”. The parents' main concerns included dependence, reduction of communication, and inappropriate content. Implications regarding links between home and kindergarten are discussed.