With a plethora of touchscreen apps aimed at young children, parents are receiving mixed messages about the appropriateness of such technology for their toddlers. The American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) advises limited engagement with digital media for this age group and encourages parents to co-engage with children when they are using screens. However, very little is known about parent-child interaction in the context of joint engagement with digital screen media in the toddler years. This study observed 56 toddlers (M = 32.5 months old; 53 % female) and a parent (52 mothers; 4 fathers) performing a 3-minute drawing task on a touchscreen tablet (digital condition), and on an Etch-A-Sketch (non-digital condition) using a repeated measures design. Observations were analysed using global ratings of dyadic interaction, comparing warmth, cooperation and conflict between digital and non-digital conditions. A mixed MANCOVA analysis, controlling for levels of daily usage of touchscreens, revealed lower levels of parent-child cooperation and warmth in the digital condition compared to the non-digital condition. In addition, there was a main effect of age with younger dyads displaying less cooperation overall, particularly in the digital condition where interactions were also less warm. Results suggest that co-engaging with digital technology can be a challenging and potentially emotionally charged context for both parents and young children. Younger toddlers, especially, may be more likely to experience less cooperative interactions when co-engaging with digital technology with a parent. Results are discussed in relation to developmental differences between 2- and 3-year olds, and the need for more nuanced guidance for parents supporting young children’s interaction with digital media.

由于针对幼儿的触摸屏应用程序过多，家长们收到的关于此类技术是否适合幼儿的信息褒贬不一。美国儿科学会（2016 年）建议该年龄段的儿童少参与数字媒体，并鼓励父母在使用屏幕时与孩子共同参与。然而，在幼儿时期与数字屏幕媒体共同参与的背景下，对亲子互动知之甚少。本研究观察了 56 名幼儿 ( M= 32.5 个月大；53 % 女性）和一位父母（52 位母亲；4 位父亲）在触摸屏平板电脑（数字条件）和 Etch-A-Sketch（非数字条件）上使用重复测量设计执行 3 分钟的绘图任务。使用二元交互的全球评级分析观察结果，比较数字和非数字条件之间的温暖、合作和冲突。控制触摸屏日常使用水平的混合 MANCOVA 分析显示，与非数字条件相比，数字条件下的亲子合作和温暖程度较低。此外，年龄的主要影响是年轻的二人整体表现出较少的合作，尤其是在互动也不太热烈的数字环境中。结果表明，对于父母和幼儿来说，与数字技术共同参与可能是一个具有挑战性且可能充满情感的环境。在与父母共同使用数字技术时，尤其是年幼的幼儿可能更有可能体验较少的合作互动。讨论结果涉及 2 岁和 3 岁儿童之间的发育差异，以及需要为支持幼儿与数字媒体互动的父母提供更细致入微的指导。