Vol. 11, Special Issue 9 (2022)

Author(s):
Pooja and Juri Baruah

Abstract:
In this modern time, screen devices have become an integral but essential part of everyone’s daily life, young children especially preschoolers are unavoidably getting exposed to screen devices earlier in life and for longer hours. Research studies have provided evidence on the influence of screen device usage on different domains of child development. The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) has recommended that children between the ages of 2-5 years should limit their screen time to a maximum of 1 hour per day under the supervision of parents. So considering the scenario, the present study was undertaken to investigate the “Predictors of Screen device usage by preschool children”. The sample of the study comprised of 300 children of age 2-5 years, randomly selected from the anganwadi centres and preschools of Roorkee and Bahadrabad blocks of Haridwar district, Uttarakhand. For the data collection, a general information schedule and self-structured screen related questionnaires were used. Hierarchical linear regression method was computed to analyse the predictors of screen device usage among preschool children. Results revealed that Age of the child, gender and mother’s screen time was strongly predicting the screen time of rural and urban preschool children.