Media Childhood
Every day, children experience a wealth of media: the constant view of an adult's smartphone, reading the newspaper in the morning, listening to the radio during dinner or watching television news. In most cases, these media offers do not address them directly, but are used by others in their presence. They only observe the actual user.
It is a fact that media often structure everyday life in the family. Which media children use and know about, what content they are interested in and how long they spend on it depends largely on the usage habits in their families. Parents and siblings are important role models for preschool children.
In the case of preschool children, the constant and active support of children in their media use by educational specialists and parents plays an important role. Parents and ECEC professionals, for example, protect children from age inappropriate content by selecting appropriate media offers. In other words, they support children in understanding media, consciously using them and controlling their media use.
Preschool children also need help from parents and pedagogical staff in dealing with (overburdening) media experiences and developing their own processing strategies. It is crucial that adults know what content can overburden children, why this can disturb or frighten them, for example, and what methods are useful in dealing with negative media experiences.