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September 2023 - Education

Half of parents believe educational content is the most important thing for kids when it comes to screen time: A BBC Children and Education survey exploring parents' attitudes towards screens and their own child's experiences has revealed that 51% of parents believe that educational content is the most important thing when it comes to what children are watching on their screens and devices, followed by 30% who said entertainment is the most important factor.

The survey of over 2,000 parents was conducted in May 2023, also finding that eight in 10 (79%) believe that since the pandemic their child is spending more time using screens than they did previously, with the majority also saying that they are concerned about the type of content that their child is accessing (67%). 

However, despite their concerns, parents also recognised the benefits to screens when it comes to their child's development, with almost two-thirds (65%) saying they agree that they support and encourage creativity and communication. The majority of parents believe it's important to monitor screen time amd limit the amout of time their child spends engaging wth a screen, however more than half said that they do not feel guilty when offering their child a device to watch.

Further questions around the types of content available to children and what parents are interested in for their child revealed that 93% are interested in educational programming, with seven in 10 also stating that it is important that this content comes from a trusted source (70%).

When asked about the concerns they have about their children watching screens, more than a third said they were worried about violence (35%), while a quarter had concerns about how addictive screen time might be for their child (26%) and around a fifth raised the potential for bad language (21%).

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