The Effects of Parent-Child Interaction and Media Use on Cognitive Development in Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

The potential for active parent-child interaction to enhance cognitive outcomes in young children is well established. This chapter explores how media use impacts parent-child engagement and cognitive development. Early exposure to media content developed for young children (i.e., foreground media) and content developed for older children and adults (i.e., background media) have differing effects on parent-child interaction and child cognitive factors at young ages. Research on foreground media exposure suggests that parents commonly engage with their young children during media use and that active joint engagement can promote learning. However, the quality and quantity of parent-child interaction may decrease in the presence of media, relative to contexts that do not involve media. Background media exposure, on the other hand, has consistently been shown to influence negatively the quality and quantity of parent-child interaction, play, and focused attention. We review research on these topics and make recommendations for media use guidelines and directions for future research.