How do parents select educational apps for young children?

Abstract

Educational apps for mobile devices for young children have seen increasingly high rates of growth. As with other media, parents play a key role in young children's app selection and use. However, to date, we know very little about how parents select apps for their children. A survey was conducted with a sample of 51 parents with at least one child between 5-12 years old, who attended a science dissemination initiative called European Researcher's night in Cyprus and had their child interact with an educational app on emotion management. The survey documents parental perspectives on purchases of educational apps, including five factors that are important for parents to consider when purchasing educational apps. Findings offer important insight for the educational media production industry into how parents select educational apps for their children.