The literature on infant and toddler screen time has been built on two traditions—cognitive models of learning and sociocultural models of learning. Cognitive studies have cautioned against the use of screen time for young children because clinical research has not shown children can learn as effectively from screens as they do from human interaction and might delay children’s cognitive development. Conversely, qualitative research has described the social ways children learn and use digital technology through social interactions with other people in their homes. This paper reports on an autoethnographic study of how digital tools were embedded in the everyday ways of life in my home during my son’s first 18 months of life. I present a first-hand account of the tensions I experienced as I grappled with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation of no, ‘digital media use (except video-chatting) in children younger than 18–24 months’ (p. 3). I juxtapose screen time recommendations with the everyday realities of my life as a first-time mother in the 21st century. Throughout the study, I was enmeshed in two roles—researcher and mother—and drew on phenomenology to describe my infant son and my lived experiences using digital technology in our home. My researcher persona was influenced by the traditions and perspectives of sociocultural theories and new literacy studies and the positive learning that can occur while using digital technology. I noted how digital tools were ingrained in daily moments and ways of life, particularly those which used the TV and smartphones, and could not be removed. Yet, my mother persona felt guilty about our use of digital technology and I struggled with the messages I received from news and social media that warned against screen time for infants and toddlers.

We know many children are using digital tools, such as mobile phones and tablets. Much has been debated about the appropriateness of these tools in the lives of young children (e.g

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PurposeThis paper describes the unintended and unanticipated ways an iPhone as a data collection tool created distractions during observations of five-year-old twins' digital literacy practices while in their home.Design/methodology/approachSituated in sociocultural theories of learning and development and new literacy studies, the 12-month-long case study examined young children's digital literacy practices in their homes before and during their transition into kindergarten. The article focuses on the data collection of five-year-old twins in their home with their parents, a family the author called the Skywalkers. Data sources included semistructured interviews, participant observations and informal conversations.FindingsThe mother was a low-technology user and preferred her children to engage in nondigital activities. The children were permitted 10 min every other day of “digital time.” The iPhone as a data collection tool provided them with digital access they would otherwise not have. The mother knew the focus of the study was digital engagement and that the iPhone was used for data collection (i.e. photographs and videos). Although the iPhone was intended to be used in establishing rapport and taking photographs, the children frequently asked to video record their play and therefore the iPhone became a distraction.Originality/valueGiven the prevalence of smartphones in Western society, the recruitment of a family with such low-technology use was unforeseen. As digital data collection increases in qualitative research, researchers should not assume that a smartphone is always appropriate for gathering photographic data. This is particularly important when investigating digital literacy practices of families in their homes.

This paper reports on an analysis of 60 print and online articles collected in a metropolitan area in Canada that describe children’s digital engagement through a focus on ‘early literacy’ or ‘digital literacy’. Findings reveal mixed messages about children’s use of digital technology that create competing frames for adults supporting (or not) young children’s digital literacy practices. Digital technology was often characterized as something to limit/control, except in school, where digital literacy was characterized as holding a proper place when controlled by educators. Consistent across media messaging was the promotion of traditional, print-based texts as an essential early literacy practice.