Understanding Digital Parenting Practices During Early Adolescence: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study examines the challenges experienced by parents of children aged 10–14 years and the strategies they use to guide their children's digital technology use. In Türkiye, digital parenting is a multi‐layered experience shaped by family resources, contextual constraints, and family roles. This study addresses the limited research on the critical age range of 10–14 years—a period marked by increasing autonomy and restructured parent–child relationships. In this qualitative study, semi‐structured online interviews were conducted with 16 income‐diverse parents (9 mothers, 7 fathers), and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the difficulties experienced by parents clustered under three main themes: challenges related to parent–child interaction, family functioning, and extra‐familial factors. Conversely, the strategies employed were conceptualized as controlling, supportive, and empowering digital parenting strategies. These findings highlight that digital parenting cannot be evaluated independently of developmental, familial, and contextual conditions, thereby offering original contributions to the literature. The findings highlight the importance of considering developmental, familial, and contextual conditions in digital parenting research and practice.