• Media as a Part of Everyday Lives

    Today, (digital) media are an integral part of children's everyday lives and are important companions on the way to adulthood, as they can, for example, support them in coping with important development issues, such as language, social rules and gender identification. Media have different functions depending on the age group.


    When preschool children know the different media and understand their potential use, then this is already a good step on the way to responsible handling of media. For example, children can better understand that adults use media not only for entertainment, but also as work tools. I recommend that you talk, paint pictures or create collages together with the children in order to approach the media topic in an age- and development-appropriate way.

    The Different Roles of the Media

    Children between the ages of three and six perceive media as objects. They are busy grasping and understanding the real world and in this sense they explore their environment curiously and want to discover media as objects.

    The media are used as a source of orientation for children between the ages of three and six. In media, children find many different, sometimes questionable, role models. The formation of values is also influenced by the media. From an early age, children try out behaviour patterns they have experienced via the media and replay media content. Here the children need the guidance and support of adults in order to be able to correctly classify and process what they have experienced.

    The media are an important source of knowledge and thus they play a decisive role in the search for information. In addition to books, films and radio plays are also important sources of information. Television programmes addressing children contain age-appropriate information. Today, one often finds a suitable website for these TV programmes, which takes the needs of children into account. Here children, accompanied by adults, can easily and playfully discover new things.


    Set clear rules for the use of media and help children to orient themselves better when dealing with them. It is therefore important for ECEC centres, but also for families, to establish plausible rules for media use together with the children. Such rules could be, for example, that the time of use of the media is limited, that media is forbidden in certain situations, for example while eating, or that only media suitable for children can be used. A poster with house rules would be useful for the children so that they know that there are some limitations which they should comply with.

    A sample poster for House Rules ready to be downloaded has been prepared.


    The media usually become playmates for children who use painting programmes on PCs, tablets or smartphones. For children from the age of three, there are recommended programmes that they can use under the supervision of adults. The media characters from books and television can also become playfellows in children's fantasies.

    When it comes to media use in this age group, stories play an essential role. Stories convey knowledge, experiences and emotions. Audiovisual content from television series or films is also fascinating as are reading books and audio plays.

    The media can therefore fulfil various functions for children. They are used for entertainment, information and orientation with regard to social behaviour. They can also simply be fun for children. At the same time, it is important to provide children with alternatives that can perform the same functions without media, for example by answering questions, playing and singing together or telling stories. In this way, the media are not given excessive importance in children's everyday lives, but take on the role of a supplementary offer.


    It is always important to offer children an alternative to the tempting media content. Preschool children in particular need a lot of exercise and opportunities to discover, explore and research their surroundings. Alternative offers that are directly related to well-known media content are particularly helpful in this respect.

    You could, for example, try out the experiments seen in the children's programmes yourself with your children or to draw together the story they have heard. Often even small incentives are enough to arouse enthusiasm in children and direct their interest to other things.