Table 3 Screen time: summary of themes from new parent and preschool parent focus groups with illustrative quotes
Theme | New parent groups | Preschool parent groups | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
N* | Example quotations** | N* | Example quotations** | |
Expectations and intentions | ||||
Television as a babysitter | 3 | ″I guess the only way I would see as an advantage is to stick a video on and plonk her in front of it if I had to do something for an hour. Like I think that if you′re at your wits end and you haven′t done anything all day and she′s been at you all day you just want peace for an hour, I′d put her in front of the TV.″ [NP 6] | 5 | ″I′ve used the TV as a baby sitter, I′ll put my hand up and admit that. And I say thank god for TV…″ [PP 8] |
″That′s what I find with the computer games. It creates a space for you to cook dinner or to just sit.″ [PP 9] | ||||
Positive aspects of screen time | 5 | ″… there′s educational [TV] programs.″ [NP 5] | 5 | ″I like these programs because she has learnt a lot of words that I wouldn′t know to teach her.″ [PP 1] |
″I′d rather them be on a computer and know how to use a computer which is pretty much part of our society, rather than play a Playstation which is just a game … In a way they have to learn computer.″ [NP 5] | ″She′ll say, ″Can I go and watch this on TV?″ And I′ll say, ″If you finish your dinner. Eat your dinner and off you go.″ Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn′t.″ [PP 1] | |||
″Even things like Wiggles, they get up off their bum and they dance and sing. Like that′s better in my mind than just sitting there.″ [NP 6] | ″I can get [child] to eat more easily if I stick the TV on, [and] stick the sandwiches in his hand.″ [PP 8] | |||
″Computers are educational aren′t they? It′s good if we start them early and it′s more interactive than TV.″[NP 1] | ″[He] can play computer games because I feel they stimulate the imagination.″ [PP 2] | |||
″I think they [computers] can be educational too. The sooner they can use a computer the better for them because it is going to become their life really. Like no matter what they end up doing, they′re going to have to [use computers].″[NP 2] | ||||
Negative aspects of screen time | 2 | ″There′s been a lot of research on the amount of television and the amount of hours sitting in front of computer games and childhood obesity… Hopefully our generation is starting to realise the negative impact those have now.″ [NP 6] | 6 | ″He watches TV in the morning a lot. That′s when all the commercials are on about McDonald′s and the toys. With some of the toys, he goes ″mummy quick come and have a look. I want this toy. Buy me this toy.″[PP 1] |
″They reckon the rise of ADD [attention deficit disorder] and all that, they′ve sort of attributed to maybe that babies growing up around TVs.″ [NP 5] | ″Definitely the news, we won′t have the news on when the kids are there.″[PP 9] | |||
″I′ll say, ″[child] are you thirsty?″ He won′t even answer. He hasn′t even heard me ′cause he′s just mesmerized by the TV.″ [PP 6] | ||||
″Since we′ve discovered DVDs, if we do that first thing in the morning then she′s just a different child for the rest of the day. Like if she starts off with TV, she′s a vegetable for the whole day.″ [PP 7] | ||||
Balance and limit setting | 5 | ″Well you don′t stick your kid in front of the TV for eight hours a day sort of thing. You know maybe a little bit of TV or just balance it with more activity.″ [NP 2] | 6 | ″I′ll get them out to a park for an hour or two, run them out. So when we get home they can sit down and watch a bit of TV.″[PP 1] |
″So again it just comes down to variety. You want them to be able to be a soccer player as well as manage the computer.″ [NP 6] | ″I keep an eye on it (computer use). I find that I′ve got quite a lot of games that they do on the computer so I sort of think, she′s been outside, she′s run for two hours, some computer [is OK].″ [PP 7] | |||
Strategies for limiting screen time | 7 | 6 | ||
Rules and limit setting | 7 | ″I think time is one way you can possibly strike a balance. Say you can have fifteen minutes of this, or one hour of television viewing or whatever the case might be. But really it comes down to you to actually enforce that and supervise that.″ [NP 6] | 6 | ″She knows how often she can spend on it [computer games]. It′s not every day anyway. She might be on the computer, maybe once a week.″ [PP 1] |
″So you′ve got to set rules and say, ″Okay, no television before this time in the afternoon.″ [NP 8] | ″It has to be limited by time. You have to say, almost have the timer.″ [PP 9] | |||
″Set shows and a set amount of time, depending on their age.″ [NP 5] | ||||
Monitoring of screen time | 3 | ″There′s a place for all of those things [TV, computer games etc.], I just think it needs to be supervised more.″ [NP 7] | 2 | ″If something like the war in Iraq comes on [the TV] we′ll just turn it off.″ [PP9] |
Supportive environment | 3 | ″Turn it off [TV or computer]. It gets removed.″ [NP 7] | 6 | ″I try and get him out of the house and then when we come back we don′t watch TV at all.″ [PP 1] |
″My mum′s got a Playstation at her place so if we go there for dinner they all want to have a shot… We′ve literally had to unplug it some nights because they just want to sit there for hours.″[PP 6] | ||||
Encouraging alternatives to screen time | 1 | ″You can plonk them in front of a pile of books, you can plonk them in front of blocks, you can plonk them in front of a lot of things and they′ll play happily.″ [NP 5] | 2 | ″We just get to a point where we have to turn it off and say, ″Let′s get dressed and go outside for a little while. You can watch it again later on.″ And as soon as it′s off they forget about it.″ [PP 6] |
″I′ll just turn the TV off and I′ll say, ″Okay, TV′s off now. It′s play time, or let′s go outside, or let′s read a book, or let′s do something else.″ And I never had an issue with it.″ [PP 1] | ||||
Barriers to limiting screen time | 4 | 3 | ||
Access within the broader environment | 3 | ″The education system is starting to enforce more and more schools to introduce computer studies and interaction with computers. So they′re going to have that interaction whether they have that at home [or not].″ [NP 6] | 2 | ″They even let them take them [computers] home on weekends at primary school. My 6 year old brings it home every Friday and then they all get on it.″ [PP 2] |
″As soon as they start school, that′s it [they are exposed to screen time].″[NP 5] | ″She has a TV in her bedroom and she sits there and watches TV and eats her breakfast in bed. So, it′s hard trying to get her out of the bedroom.″ [PP 3] | |||
The influence of other carers (e.g. fathers) | 2 | ″I cannot stand the TV being constantly on during the day and I don′t want the kids watching television at breakfast at all. It really makes me cross. But my husband, he′s like, ″But it′s normal for the cartoons to be on.″ There is that kind of conflict.″ [NP 8] | 2 | ″My husband, every time he goes to the video shop, he gets them DVD′s and they get hooked, they want it on and on over and over again.″ [PP 1] |
″Dad plays it [Playstation] all the time. And I don′t want him to play it so I don′t know what I′m going to do.″[NP 5] | ||||
″I have enough trouble getting my husband to do that [turn the TV off], let alone my child.″ [NP 8] | ||||
The influence of other children engaging in screen time | 2 | ″If you′ve got another child down the track, if you′ve got older kids, and they′ve got shows they want to watch then you can′t control what the younger one are watching. Well you can but it′s difficult.″ [NP 5] | 0 | |
Other commitments | 1 | ″I think there′s another aspect to all of this discussion which is our lifestyle and who′s supervising [tv and computer time]. You know a lot of parents are working so it is going to be difficult.″ [NP 6] | 2 | ″I think, like when you were pregnant, sometimes you have to put the video on so the others engage in that. Or if you′ve had a bad night. If you′ve been up through the night.″ [PP 9] |