MEDIA INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN OF EARLY AND PRESCHOOL AGE

Abstract

The media are an integral part of the daily life of adults and, to an increasing extent, children. It is almost impossible to imagine a child of early or preschool age who is not exposed to some type of media on a daily basis. The influence media has on children of early and preschool age is certainly great, but the question arises whether this influence is more positive or negative for the child's overall development and to what extent this development is determined by the media. The aim of this research is to gain insight into the extent to which parents monitor the use of media by their children. The research conducted with 49 respondents, parents of early and preschool children from Slavonski Brod, using an online survey, among other things, led to results that indicate a relatively high degree of parental control over media use. So, 58.3% of the respondents' children watch media content exclusively under the supervision of their parents. 52.1% of children spend more time in the game without media content. 70.8% of parents have insight into all media content to which their children are exposed. A review of other research on this issue showed that there is a problem of excessive media exposure in children of early and preschool age at the global level. Media promote the idea of quick solutions without much effort and tolerance and do not require the already lost culture of patience and waiting. Therefore, such methods are often applied to raising children, to the detriment of children.