Building Family Relationships from a Distance: Supporting Connections with Babies and Toddlers Using Video and Video Chat

Preschoolers Benefit Equally From Video Chat, Pseudo-Contingent Video, and Live Book Reading: Implications for Storytime During the Coronavirus Pandemic and Beyond

“…Regardless of the situation, video chat technologies present an exciting opportunity for children to experience one-on-one interactions with caring adults ( Ames et al, 2010 ; McClure and Barr, 2017 ). While parents have been long concerned with the effects of media exposure on young children, research suggests that video chat may encourage more interactive adult-child exchanges than other media-based activities such as playing solo games ( Roseberry et al, 2014 ).…”

Virtual parent-child visitation in support of family reunification in the time of COVID-19

“…Research in these areas has found that children can benefit significantly in terms of knowledge development, emotional well-being and relationship maintenance from virtual communication with parents and others from whom they are separated. Even infants and toddlers have been shown to respond appropriately to video mediated social interactions with family members (McClure & Barr, 2017;McClure et al, 2018). Through active, playful, and emotionally positive engagement, parents are able to gain their young children's attention, facilitate positive emotions in them, foster curiosity and exploration of their immediate environment, offer distant forms of affection and comfort (e.g., throwing kisses, pretend hugging) and display interest in their children's activities and daily life experiences (McClure & Barr, 2017).…”

“…Even infants and toddlers have been shown to respond appropriately to video mediated social interactions with family members (McClure & Barr, 2017;McClure et al, 2018). Through active, playful, and emotionally positive engagement, parents are able to gain their young children's attention, facilitate positive emotions in them, foster curiosity and exploration of their immediate environment, offer distant forms of affection and comfort (e.g., throwing kisses, pretend hugging) and display interest in their children's activities and daily life experiences (McClure & Barr, 2017). The success of virtual parent-child contact, however, is often tied to the involvement of an active and motivated caregiver or support person who helps the child engage the distant parent, supports joint attention, and makes the interaction positive, playful and relevant.…”

Association of Parental and Contextual Stressors With Child Screen Exposure and Child Screen Exposure Combined With Feeding

“…Child screen exposure and CSE combined with feeding (CSE+F; defined as screen time exposure while eating meals or snacks) are influenced by parenting beliefs, such as the educational value of screen time, and contextual factors, such as availability of screens in the home. [2][3][4] Some studies have found positive outcomes of video chatting in younger children 5 or differential effects of screen modality. 6 However, other studies report that use of mobile devices by children younger than 2 years is associated with shorter sleep duration.…”