Screen exposure in early childhood and maternal behaviors: a cross-sectional study from Turkey

The first two years of life are critical for a child’s development, requiring optimal parental interaction and care, while limiting screen exposure is essential to prevent potential cognitive and socio-emotional delays. This study examined maternal use of digital devices during early childhood care and explored factors associated with children’s screen exposure. A cross-sectional study was conducted between February 1 and June 1, 2023, in three family health centers in Gaziantep. Face-to-face surveys were administered to 256 mothers with children aged 4 to 24 months. A total of 60.5% of children were exposed to television daily (44.1% < 1 h, 16.4% ≥ 1 h), followed by 53.1% to smartphones (41.4% < 1 h, 11.7% ≥ 1 h) and 21.9% to computers/tablets (17.6% < 1 h, 4.3% ≥ 1 h). Mothers most frequently used smartphones to facilitate childcare. Screen exposure during feeding was reported in 40.7% for television (34.4% rarely/sometimes, 6.3% most of the time/always), 21.9% for computers/tablets (17.2% rarely/sometimes, 4.7% most of the time/always), and 46.1% for smartphones (37.1% rarely/sometimes, 9.0% most of the time/always. Children whose fathers demonstrated high paternal involvement in childcare exhibited significantly lower rates of television, smartphone, and computer/tablet use. The findings revealed that a significant proportion of mothers used digital technological devices during childcare, and that higher paternal involvement in childcare may have a potential mitigating effect on early screen exposure in children.