From experiencing parental mediation as a child to practicing it as a parent: an exploratory study with Israeli mothers

This study of 267 mothers of young children explores, for the first time, the associations between recollection of parental mediation during childhood and current parental mediation of children's media uses. The analysis indicated that the mothers' recollections were significantly associated with mediating their children's media use in the present. Moreover, these recollections predicted the current mediation more than variables found to be significant in previous studies, such as background characteristics and attitudes. These findings suggest that parents apply mediation practices according to how they recall the parental mediation they experienced in their childhood and call for considering such recalls in future research. Prior State of Knowledge: Parental level of involvement in the mediation of children's media uses was studied, so far, within the framework of parents' socio-demographic characteristics, their media literacy, availability, attitudes towards media effects, children's age and gender, and particular family circumstances.Novel Contributions: Mothers apply mediation practices to their children's media use according to their recall of the parental mediation they experienced in their childhood. This recollection was the strongest predictor of their current mediation above and beyond other factors investigated in previous studies.Practical Implications: This study's findings can be of interest to parents and practitioners working with families, since it demonstrates that recollections of mediation experiences in childhood may play a variety of roles in how present mothers deal with their children's complex media environment.