A study to explore mother‟s perception about 2-6 years children‟s behavior influenced by prolonged screen time in Dhaka city

Abstract

Innovation in technology has made gadgets and devices an integral part of our everyday lives. Every household from different economic background has some sort of gadgets that they use for either entertainment or for communication. It is inevitable for children not to become part of this new era gadget culture. Children are exposed to different types of gadgets from the moment they are born. In U.S.A 29% of children use tech gadgets as toddlers and 70% master them completely by primary school age. In developed countries many researches were done and still being conducted about children‘s gadget usage and screen time to ensure children‘s proper healthy growth and to inform parents about right ways to let their children use gadgets. In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended no T.V at all for kids under 2 and only two hours a day for older kids. In Bangladesh, not very many researches were done on children‘s gadget or screen usage. There is no guidance from the government for Bangladeshi parents to exercise with their children about gadget use or screen time. The research and findings found in western world has associated screen time with sleep disorder, developmental delay, attention issues, school readiness, problems with social connectedness, violence, less connectivity, sleep disorder, obesity, sedentary behavior and less family bonding. In Bangladesh screen time and gadget usage among children is relatively newer concept than western world. Therefore, advantages and disadvantages of using gadgets are coming into light recently. Considering the importance of this issue, this study was done in Dhaka City to understand mother‘s perception and practices at home with gadgets with their preschool age children. This study will give us insight into mother‘s perception and practices about gadget usage among preschoolers. The objective of this study is to explore mother‘s perception on whether their 2-6 years old children‘s behavior influenced by prolonged screen time and practices at home. This is a qualitative study. Data was collected through qualitative data collection methods. It used In-Depth Interview (IDI) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as data collection method with the mothers of Dhaka city. Open ended questionnaire for IDI and FGD was used. The study used purposive sampling for selecting four (4) mothers from different socio-economic background and two FGD groups consisting of 6 mothers in each group and these two group represents two different social economic class. Content analysis was used for data analysis. The findings of the study gave us a vivid understanding of mother‘s perception about gadget or screen usage among their children. From both the IDIs‘ and FGDs‘ it seemed like mothers are using gadgets as ―babysitters‖ to control their children while they are eating or acting out in a social gathering. They also claimed that screen is being used as a source of entertainment due to the lack of child friendly activities in the town and absence of secured play area. This situation has made it impossible for children not to use electronic devices to engage themselves during their leisure time. Many parents expressed that when children are using devices they tend to be focused into the device, quiet and sitting which gives the parents opportunity to do their own chores or work. Some mothers said it is easier to feed their children if the children are watching screen during meal time. The usage of screen has increased among children in recent years which has finally started to show side effects and now parents are confused if screen or excessive gadget usage are the reason for their children‘s sedentary behavior, less sleep, less attention, obesity, less social connectedness, speech delay etc. problems. Many mothers think being able to use gadgets is a smart thing for their children without realising that children will suffer from its side effects. However, research findings have shown that, screen time, in particular, television viewing, has been negatively associated with the development of physical and cognitive abilities, and positively associated with obesity, sleep problems, depression and anxiety. Numerous researches have linked excessive screen time with socializing, cognitive and behavior issues. In this research, mothers showed positive attitude towards their childrens‘ usage of devices. Not all mother is informed about the issues that will arise due to excessive usage of screen and we are creating a generation who will lack social connectedness and other life skills. However some of the mothers are aware and thinks gadget use or screen time should be controlled by parents and children should not use gadgets or screen excessively. Mothers were confused about how much time they are supposed to allow their children to use gadgets as it was really very tough to control gadget or screen time of their children. There is no government guidelines for parents of Bangladesh to follow about this topic. Mothers do think there should be more awareness raising workshops where parents can get more information in this subject matter.