A Process Framework of Family AI Use in Early Education and Care
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21320051 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ying Zhang (0000-0001-6214-2440, College of Education United Arab Emirates University Al Ain UAE), Qilong Zhang (0000-0002-1560-1154, College of Education United Arab Emirates University Al Ain UAE, corresponding author), Ke Jiang (0000-0002-3436-8730, Faculty of Art and Education The University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand), Ying Li (0000-0003-0678-9535, Faculty of Art and Education The University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand), Qiuzhi Xie (0000-0003-4700-5063, Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy Australian Catholic University Sydney Australia) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | e70174-e70174 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Family Process (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0014-7370 • E-ISSN: 1545-5300 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/famp.70174 |
| PMID | 42299828 |
| OpenAlex | W7164941387 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 21 |
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly entering family life, reshaping how young children learn, play, and interact with technology. Yet little is known about how parents interpret these changes or organize AI use at home. This qualitative study generates a process framework of family AI use in early education and care, capturing Chinese parents' perspectives through inductive thematic analysis. Sixteen parents whose children attended nurseries and kindergartens across nine Chinese cities were purposefully selected for in‐depth interviews. Through inductive analysis, we constructed a process framework suggesting that parents first articulate beliefs about AI, which inform the functions they intend AI to serve, and these functions in turn shape their mediation strategies. Parents emphasized both the significance of AI and the irreplaceability of human roles, while envisioning AI as a tool for relieving workload, offering parenting advice, entertaining, and supporting playful learning. Mediation strategies reflected ongoing negotiation, including managing AI's presence, interface, exposure, screen use, and content. This process framework illustrates how families balance opportunity with caution by shaping children's encounters with AI in ways consistent with parental values. It offers a conceptual tool for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers concerned with supporting healthy family engagement with AI in the digital age
Conceptual framework · Family mediation · Mediation · Process (computing) · Qualitative research · Thematic analysis · Child Development and Digital Technology · Family and Disability Support Research · Impact of Technology on Adolescents
Parental Mediation of Children's Internet Use
Sociomaterial Practices
Identifying and Explaining the Relationship Between Parental Mediation and Children's Aggression
Examining Productive Failure, Productive Success, Unproductive Failure, and Unproductive Success in Learning
Thematic Analysis
A qualitative exploration of parents and their children's uses and gratifications of ChatGPT
Online clinical supervision in couple and family therapy
Parent‐led vs. AI ‐guided dialogic reading
What is the impact of a multi‐modal pedagogical conversational AI system on parents' concerns about technology use by young children
AI-based chatbot micro-intervention for parents
A Step-by-Step Process of Thematic Analysis to Develop a Conceptual Model in Qualitative Research
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |