Abstract
Smart phones and tablets are becoming increasingly popular and interesting among children at early ages across board. This study investigated the attitudes of parents in Nigeria towards early exposure of children to smartphones and tablets. The major objective of the study was to find the relations between parental values and parental attitudes on child cognitive development towards early exposure of young children to smart phones and tablets. It further aimed to find the difference in parental attitudes on child cognitive development in relation to urban or rural context in Nigeria. This quantitative study used items on Childs’ cognitive development to measure parents’ attitudes while the values of power, tradition and conformity adapted Schwartz value theory was used to measure parental values A survey questionnaire administered via online and paper was used as instrument for data collection, while parents whose children were between 0-3 years of age formed the participants. A total sample size of N=80, (55%, males and 45%, females) participated in the survey. The Pearson correlation result showed a positive relation between parental values and parental attitudes of child cognition, while the independent sample t-test showed a positive difference between attitudes of parents on child’s cognitive development in the urban and rural areas of Nigeria. The results from the Pearson’s correlation analysis further answered the third research question of this study by revealing that parents’ attitudes on child cognitive development and parents’ level of education are significantly and positively correlated. The study therefore concluded that in Nigeria, parental values, parents’ higher level of education and the cultural contexts of parents in terms of urban/rural habitation can influence parental attitudes on child cognitive development regarding young children’s early exposure to smart phones and tablets.
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