# Parental mediation of smart device use and its impact on language development in early childhood

## TL;DR

This study explores how parents in Amman mediate smart device use and how it affects early childhood language development.

## Contribution

The study introduces insights into passive versus active parental mediation and its impact on language acquisition in early childhood.

## Key findings

- Parents predominantly use passive mediation strategies for smart device use.
- Passive mediation may hinder optimal language development due to lack of interaction.
- Parents are uncertain about the educational value of smart device content for language skills.

## Abstract

This study investigated the mediation strategies that parents use regarding the use of smart devices and how those strategies can subsequently affect the enhancement of language in children in Amman. The study applied a stratified sampling technique in its recruitment of 82 families from Amman. The theoretical underpinning of the study was laid by Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Theory, proposing that active mediation on the part of the parents would create the use of smart devices for interaction and thus help in the acquisition of a language. Instead, the discovery revealed that parents were using passive mediation, that is, rules of when and how screens should be used, rather than active control and guidance. The screen time duration rule, which in many cases involves no direct interaction, can be a difficult to the development of optimum language skills. The research found another very remarkable point: there was no agreement by parents on whether content held educational benefits for using the smart device to foster early reading and language skills, even under their supervision. This doubt is also attached to the value of the parents’ involvement in the promotion of linguistic learning and understanding the context in which language operates. The study based on these results strongly recommends that future efforts in Jordan concentrate on developing and implementing target educational programs for parents. This program should highlight the critical role of active parental mediation and emphasize more on practices such as co-viewing and interaction during smart device use to stimulate early language development effectively.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-38833-9.