Family engagement in nature-based activities may reduce children’s screen time while counteracting the adverse outcomes associated with excessive screen useGrowing evidence suggests that children’s excessive screen use is linked to a range of adverse behavioral, emotional, and psychosocial outcomes. On the other hand, interaction with nature is increasingly shown to promote well-being and healthy development. In fact, many of the negative health impacts related to excessive screen time may be moderated through the health-promoting effects of time in nature. This scoping review was conducted to explore the existing literature that investigated “how the beneficial health effects of nature exposure interact with problematic screen use across childhood, and what role parent-child relations play in this dynamic.”
A search of the literature was conducted to identify existing studies that examined the interaction between nature exposure, screen use, and parent-child relations. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies of typically and non-typically developing children from birth to 12 years were included in the search. Only studies published in peer reviewed journals in English between 2012–2023 were considered for inclusion in the review. No limitations were placed on the geographic location of the study. The search yielded 23 studies, including seven qualitative studies, six mixed-methods studies, and ten quantitative studies. The reviewed studies were conducted in a range of contexts and used a variety of approaches to assess engagement with nature and screen use. Findings across studies were synthesized through thematic analysis.
Findings revealed multiple pathways through which children’s screen use and engagement with nature interact with family dynamics. The reviewed studies consistently indicated that children’s free time activity choices are influenced by opportunities to engage with nature as well as perceptions or orientations towards nature. Both opportunities for nature and orientations towards nature interact with family-related factors, including parental attitudes towards their children’s engagement with nature, family rules, values, and routines, time limitations, and safety concerns. Many of these factors were found to be barriers to children’s engagement with nature. Both children and parents widely reported that a preference for indoor, screen-based activities was a common barrier to engagement with nature. However, children’s preferences for screen-based or nature-based activities were also dependent on their caregivers’ role in either encouraging or limiting their access to nature. Results also highlight how “different sociocultural lenses interact with demographic factors to shape the way in which participants perceive, prefer, and engage with routines around nature and screen media.” In some instances, sociocultural norms and demographic variables, including socio-economic status, gender, and age, restricted opportunities for nature engagement. Importantly, while children’s use of screen devices was viewed as creating family tension, the studies indicated that engagement in nature-based activities as a family supported positive parent-child interactions and relational well-being. Engagement in nature-based activities as a family was also found to increase parents’ self-efficacy and confidence for overcoming barriers to nature participation. In a few instances, screen-based technology was used to support children’s engagement with nature.
Although research exploring the relationship between children’s screen use and nature engagement within a family context is sparse, the review offers important insights to the roles families play in shaping children’s perceptions, experiences, and routines around screen use and time in nature. The review also highlights the potential of family nature interventions to support family cohesion and improve the quality of parent-child relationships while simultaneously encouraging children’s healthy development through engagement in nature. The researchers conclude that “promotion of family engagement in nature-based activities may provide opportunities not only to displace children’s sedentary screen time through shifts in parental attitudes and children’s free time preferences, but to counteract some of the adverse psychosocial outcomes associated with problematic screen use.”
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