Van Hummel: “Media education asks largely the same of parents as the rest of parenting. Compare media education to learning to ride a bike. This makes it easier for parents to understand why media education matters. After that, your role as a professional is to encourage media education. Without judgment, and with genuine interest.”
What role do professionals play in supporting parents with media education?
“Professionals can encourage parents to engage with media education. But in practice, we see that many professionals feel unsure about what to do. Like many parents, they often find the digital world complicated. They don’t really know how to deal with it, and feel they need to know more about it to support parents. As a result, they often avoid the subject.”
Is this feeling of uncertainty justified?
“Definitely not. Media education asks largely the same of parents as the rest of parenting. Compare it with how parents deal with sleep or sweets. There are rules and boundaries for these things; it’s important to be consistent and clear, and for parents to be on the same page. All these elements apply to media education too. So you really don’t need to be a media specialist to support parents. Most professionals already have the expertise they need.”
What is the most important advice you can give parents as a professional?
“Media education isn’t about right or wrong. Above all, it’s about parents having a relaxed approach to media and finding a balance in media use. As a professional, your role is to talk with parents about that balance. How can you ensure a good balance at home between media use and other activities, such as playing outside, sports, sleep, and school? And how can you support your child in their media use? For example, do you let your child use media on their own a lot, or do you use media together too?”
How do parents themselves feel about media education?
“We see roughly two different approaches. One parent is actively engaged with it and looks for ways to support their child in using media. The other doesn’t really give media education much thought and isn’t aware of its importance.”
Should you support these parents in different ways?
“With parents who don’t give media education much thought, you mainly want to raise their awareness. With the other group, the main thing is to create openness, so parents feel free to share their concerns and questions. Sometimes parents feel ashamed to talk about it because they think they’re doing it wrong—for example, because their child has a lot of screen time. Many people believe that media are mostly bad for children. As a professional, you can reassure parents and explore ways to use media in a positive way.”
What is the best way to talk about media education?
“It often works well to approach it as something you explore together with parents. Ask lots of questions. Which media do you use a lot as a family? At what times? Do you mostly use them on your own, or together too? Then you can explore ways to use media more mindfully together. If children mostly watch YouTube on their own on a smartphone or tablet, for example, you could suggest that parents watch with them sometime.”
Does parents’ own media use also play a role in parenting?
“Absolutely. We see that many parents are not yet sufficiently aware of their own media habits. Children need their parents’ attention. That means parents need to be available enough. Screens often get in the way of that availability. It’s important for parents to be aware of this. Again, it’s not about right or wrong. It’s really not a problem if parents check their phones from time to time when they’re with their child. But they should do so in moderation. Children look to their parents in everything they do. Their parents are their role models. They watch their emotions and how they respond to others. A screen literally gets between parent and child. In this way, it can hinder children’s development.”
Are there things that professionals should avoid doing?
“Avoid judging how parents use media. And don’t wag your finger and tell them how they should do it. That only creates a barrier, when what you want is to encourage parents to speak freely. So set aside your own judgment and talk with parents with genuine interest. If you start by imposing restrictions and taking a hard line, you’re missing the point.”
The Netherlands Youth Institute ends the interview with three tips:
1. Compare media education to learning to ride a bike
Children learn many things with guidance. Think of falling asleep independently, learning to ride a bike, and walking to school on their own. But when it comes to using media, children are often left entirely to their own devices. Making this comparison makes it easier to understand why media education matters. After that, you can discuss with parents how they can and want to support their child in using media.
2. Focus not on screen time, but on media moments
Many parents are looking for specific advice about screen time. As a professional, it’s more important to look at the role media play in the family. When are media used? And when is there time for other things? If an hour of screen time is spread throughout the day, that isn’t necessarily a long time—especially if parents use media together with their child. It’s different when a child spends an hour alone in front of a screen. So as a professional, focus not on screen time, but on the media moment.
3. Emphasize the importance of boredom and discomfort
Parents often use media when their child is tired or bored, or when their child is whining while they have visitors. Media are then used as a kind of digital pacifier. That can be convenient sometimes. But negative emotions serve a purpose too, of course. When a child is bored or frustrated, they learn from it. For example, they have to practise being patient. Using media can therefore have short-term benefits, but parents may miss opportunities and learning moments that can benefit their child in the long term.