Mobile media use by infants and toddlers

This study examined mobile media (MM) use patterns by infants and toddlers (36 months old and younger, N = 326) from a family media ecology perspective. Parents' frequency of MM use, their motives for child's use, and child's age predicted children's total MM use. Parents with stronger educational motivations were more likely to use MM together with their child and less likely to have the child use MM alone. Less parent education, more non-educational motivations and greater child behavioral dysregulation predicted greater child use of MM alone. Parents with predominantly non-educational motivations were likely to provide higher levels of child MM use alone when their children had greater behavioral dysregulation. Results suggest family media ecology relates to the amount and the social context of young children's MM use; i.e., as a teaching tool together with a parent, or as a parenting tool to cope with children's more challenging behavior. •Parents' frequency of mobile media (MM) use predicted children's total MM use on our online survey.•Parents with stronger educational motivations were more likely to use MM together with their child.•Less parent education and greater child behavioral dysregulation predicted greater child use of MM alone.•Parents with non-educational motivations related to child MM use alone when children had greater behavioral dysregulation.