Children's agency within digital play and learning: Exploring the impact of shared play experiences on parent–child negotiations

Abstract

Children actively participate in socially constructing their digitised childhoods. However, parents often struggle to understand and manage the relationship between children and digital technology, especially with reference to children's agency and creativity with digital devices. This paper reports on the impact on parent–child negotiations of a 10‐week programme of digital technology experiences whereby parents actively co‐played with their children. Interviews revealed a gradual transformation in parent beliefs, from anxiety to appreciation of negotiated agency and creative digital practice. From this finding, three guiding principles for parents are offered based around the concepts of attention, interest and interaction.