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0-3-Year-old children’s digital language and literacy practices at home: A scoping review of the literature

Sandra Marie El Gemayel Orcid Logo, Rosie Flewitt Orcid Logo, Janet Goodall Orcid Logo

Journal of Early Childhood Literacy

Swansea University Author: Janet Goodall Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1177/14687984251388333

Abstract

Research on young children’s use of digital media has increased over recent decades but less is known about the digital language and literacy practices at home of children aged under 3 years. This scoping review was conducted to map knowledge on this phenomenon to inform the ESRC-funded study Toddle...

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Published in: Journal of Early Childhood Literacy
ISSN: 1468-7984 1741-2919
Published: SAGE Publications 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70573
Abstract: Research on young children’s use of digital media has increased over recent decades but less is known about the digital language and literacy practices at home of children aged under 3 years. This scoping review was conducted to map knowledge on this phenomenon to inform the ESRC-funded study Toddlers, Tech and Talk. Fifty-two papers published from January 2000 to June 2024 were identified from six databases: Australian Education Index, British Education Index, ERIC (EBSCO), ERIC (ProQuest), SCOPUS and Web of Science, as well as Google and Google Scholar. The literature was synthesised into the following categories: child language and TV-viewing; video calls; technology and musicality, mark making and book-reading; joint media engagement and the home digital literacy environment. Although child ‘screentime’ has been associated with delayed language development, research suggests these effects can be mediated by the context of technology use, parent co-viewing and interaction. Many extant studies are dependent on parental reports of very young children’s digital activity and/or on simulated contexts. To deepen knowledge on this topic, there is rich scope for observational studies conducted in family homes, co-produced research with parents and children, and longitudinal studies of babies’, infants’ and toddlers’ digital language and literacy practices at home.
Keywords: digital technology, language, literacy, home literacy environment (HLE), joint media engagement (JME), toddlers, tech and talk, video calls, young children
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Funders: This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number ES/W001020/1].

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