Relationship between grandparental involvement in parenting and screen exposure of preschoolers

HU Mengzhu; HAO Yinjun; CUI Naixue

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2023-0316

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2023, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (12) : 1302-1307. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2023-0316

Original Articles

Relationship between grandparental involvement in parenting and screen exposure of preschoolers

HU Mengzhu, HAO Yinjun, CUI Naixue

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Abstract

Objective To explore the relationship between grandparental involvement in parenting and preschoolers' screen exposure, in order to provide scientific evidence for reducing screen exposure in preschoolers. Methods Three kindergartens in Ji'nan City were selected using convenience samplingfrom March to April 2022.Parents of all preschoolers were invited tocomplete the questionnaireto collect general information of children and parents (including gender, age, home location, parental education level), grandparental involvement in parenting, and children's screen exposure on schooldays and weekends. Independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to compare preschoolers' screen time against different sociodemographic information. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between grandparental involvement in parenting and screen exposure. Binary Logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation of grandparental involvement in parenting with the time and activities of daily screen exposure. Results A total of 753 parents returned valid questionnaires. Among all participating families, grandparents were involved in half (55.0%) of the 753 preschoolers' daily care. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that compared with chidlren whose main caregivers were not grandparents, screen time on weekdays, weekends and average screen time weekly of preschoolers whose grandparents were involved in parenting was 7.9, 12.9 and 9.4 min longer, respectively (P＜0.05). Preschoolers whose grandparents were involved in parenting had a significantly higher risk of watching electronic screen devices after 20:00 on weekends than preschoolers whose primarycaregivers were not grandparents(OR=1.43, 95% CI:1.01 - 2.04, P=0.047). However, types of screen activities did not significantly differ between preschoolers with and without grandparental involvement in parenting (P＞0.05). Conclusions Grandparental involvement in parenting is associated with increased screen time among preschoolers. It is recommended that grandparents who are frequently involved in child care should be told about the adverse effects of excessive electronic screen use to improve grandparents' management skills of children's screen use behavior.

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screen exposure / preschoolers / grandparents

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HU Mengzhu, HAO Yinjun, CUI Naixue. Relationship between grandparental involvement in parenting and screen exposure of preschoolers[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2023, 31(12): 1302-1307 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2023-0316

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