Children, Parents and Tablets: Preschool Children’s Tablet Use

Calismanin amaci, okul oncesi donem cocuklarinin tablet kullanim durumlarinin incelenerek, ebeveynlerin konu hakkindaki goruslerinin degerlendirilmesidir. Bu amacla arastirmada, nitel perspektifin bir urunu olan durum calismasi deseni kullanilmistir. Arastirmanin calisma grubunu, bes okul oncesi donem cocugu ve bunlarin ebeveynleri olusturmustur. Calisma verileri; cocuklarin tablet kullanimina iliskin gozlemler, cocuklarin tabletlerinde bulunan uygulamalarin incelenmesi ve ebeveynler ile yapilan yari yapilandirilmis gorusmeler ile toplanmistir. Tabletlerin dokuman inceleme surecine iliskin analiz cercevesi olusturulmus, gozlem ve gorusmeler icerik analizine tabi tutulmustur. Calismadan elde edilen bulgular; ebeveynlerin tabletlere yuklenen oyun secimlerinde bir takim kriterlerinin oldugunu, cocuklarinin tablet kullanimina iliskin endise duyduklarini fakat bunlara iliskin onlemler aldiklarini gostermistir. Ayrica tablet kullaniminda; cocugu mesgul tutma, ebeveyn etkisi ve acik hava oyunlarindan yoksunluk faktorlerinin etkili oldugu belirlenmis ve ebeveynlerin tableti iyi bir egitim araci olarak gordukleri sonucuna ulasilmistir. Calisma bulgulari incelendiginde, okul oncesi donem cocuklari tarafindan tabletlerin cogunlukla oyun oynama amacli kullanildigi; ebeveynlerinde tabletler ile ilgili bilgilerinin oyun uygulamalari ile sinirli kaldigi gorulmustur. Sonuclar, ebeveynlerin genel olarak tabletteki oyun uygulamalarinin egitici yonunu goz onune aldigi seklinde yorumlanmis ve tabletlerde bulunan farkli uygulamalarin da gelisimi destekleme amacli kullanilabilecegi yonunde oneri sunulmustur.


Introduction
In the twenty-first century, children are born into a cyber-world and come into contact with digital technology from the moment they are born (Akkoyunlu & Tuğrul, 2002).Owing to fast growing technological improvements, including preschoolers, many children are exposed to technology products more often than in the past, and one of the increasingly used digital technologies by children nowadays has been tablets (Bower, 2012).Some of the reasons for the common use of tablets include internet connection in most places, its transportability and ease of use, and interesting applications for children (Wu et al., 2014).
The use of digital screen technologies in preschools has increasingly gained importance (Parnell & Barlett, 2012), and has become a topic attracting researchers' attention (Vernadakis, Avgerinos, Tsitskari & Zachopoulou, 2005).The research related to the effects of using digital screen technologies in preschools on children's development reveal various findings.Although it depends on the use, these technologies were found to have positive effects on children's visual intelligence and psychomotor development while they have a negative influence on their physical, psychological, language, mathematics and social development (Bremer, 2005;Jackson, Eye, Fitzgerald, Witt, & Zhao, 2011;Li, Atkins & Stanton, 2006;Subrahmanyam, Kraut, Greenfield, & Gross, 2000;Wu et al.,2014).Regarding preschool education, tablets are defined as tools to increase children's motivation in the learning process, to encourage them to learn and to keep their minds busy (An, Morgenlander, & Seplocha, 2014).In a study by Toledo and Mattoon (2012), it was revealed that tablets reinforce children to work cooperatively in the classroom, increase creativity and communication skills among children.Tablets, which can be used as new material in classrooms, are presented to small and big groups of students with the guidance of teachers (Aronin & Floyd, 2013), thus tablet use is practiced under the control of teachers.In preschools, tablets can be integrated into the curriculum due to its facilitative effects on learning through various applications (An et al., 2014;Aronin & Floyd, 2013).Herein, it can be concluded that when under the control of teachers and in accordance with the program, tablet use in preschools can be an effective teaching tool (Couse & Chen, 2010;McPake, Plowman, & Stephen, 2013;Shifflet, Toledo, & Mattoon, 2012).
Considering the characteristics of preschoolers, the importance of parents' effects on children is unquestionable.In this sense, parental effect is one of the essential factors in preschoolers' tablet use (Plowman, McPake, & Stephen, 2008).Small children develop new skills in digital technology use through observing their parents.Thus, it can be inferred that healthy behavior models play a critical role in safe use of these tools by children (Wu et al., 2014).In a study by Funk, Brouwer, Curtiss and McBroom (2009), it was found that parents' guidance in digital technology use was inadequate, which had negative effects on children.In another study by Plowman, McPake and Stephen (2010), risky situations in children's digital technology use were revealed, but parents stated that they did not worry about their children's digital technology use as they believed that they had taken the necessary precautions.In a study aiming to determine children's digital technology use and parents' opinions about this topic, families were found to adopt a restrictive attitude towards the use of such technologies, which could be due to parents' desire to protect children from inappropriate media content and other risks (Wu et al., 2014).
Tablets used by children in preschools with the supervision of teachers can also be used with or without any control or supervision of anybody in many environments outside of school.In a review of the related literature, some studies concerning tablet use in classrooms, the current situation of parents' guidance of their children about tablet use outside of school can be found, which is a fact drawing much attention.Thus, use of tablet by children, which are a commonly used product of developing technology, and parental opinions are of great importance in terms of understanding the thoughts and awareness of this topic.In this sense, the aim of this study deals with two primary questions:  What is the current situation in children's tablet use in preschool?
 What are parents' opinions about tablet use of children in preschool?

Research Design
The current study, examining the positive and negative effects of child-tablet interactions was framed as a qualitative research.Qualitative research focuses on direct data collection from participants and interpretation (Merriam, 2015, pp. 13-15).In some situations, when current studies in subject area do not present adequate knowledge, it may be necessary to gather more information from participants (Creswell, 2012).So, this study was conducted as a case study which is a product of qualitative perspective.A case study is a research design in which a current event is examined in detail within daily content and through more than one data collection tool (Yin, 1984).This study aims to present preschoolers' tablet use in detail and in an integrative manner.Thus, this study was conducted as a case study.

Participants
Since qualitative research inherently cannot be generalized, such studies are characterized with the focus on relatively less participants and gathering detailed information (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007).In this context, this study made use of the purposive sampling method so as to obtain a rich amount of detailed information.In this sampling type, the researcher can choose participants and places based on his study goals (Creswell, 2012).
The study was conducted with five parents whose children are in preschool working at a state university in the fall term of the 2014-2015 academic year.The study process was structured over the case sampling method which is one of the purposive sampling methods and easily accessible, in that the study required long term data collection and the researchers work at the same university where the study is conducted.In selection of the sample, the basic criteria are that children have their own tablet and that they play with tablet on daily basis.The sample was comprised on the basis of volunteering with these children and their parents who meet these criteria.Ethic principals are considered in the study, thus the participants were given nicknames.The information about participants is presented in Table 1.  1, all participating children who are presented with age and gender continue to pre-school education institution.While Damla, Ada, Ece and Bilge are going to private pre-school education institutions, Burcu continues to pre-school education institution affiliated to a public institution.Burcu, Damla and Ece have one brother/sister, while Ada and Bilge are children who are not brothers/sisters.None of the children in the study group had any known developmental problems.

Data Collection
The data of the study was gathered through observations of interactions between children and tablets, the reviews of tablets and semi-structured interviews with parents.In this context, the study made use of more than one data collection method so as to ensure validity and reliability of the scale.
Since the study includes multiple methods, comparing and checking all the data obtained through interviews, observations and related document analysis with each other was required (Merriam, 2015).Data collection processes of the study is presented under the following headings:

Observations of child-tablet interactions:
In qualitative research, through providing first-hand accounts of a situation, observations facilitate collecting data which can be the source of interviews (Merriam, 2015, p.111).Within the study context, the observations were based on two questions: Firstly, what are the aims of children to use tablets?Which applications do they prefer and what is their process of using the tablet?Secondly, through conducting observations with parents, the study aimed to provide information that can be references for the interviews with parents.Observations were planned to be made with each child one by one, but then, owing to the thought that they could feel more relaxed when they were with their friends, kids who were friends were observed in two groups for an hour.The practices were implemented in familiar surroundings of children where they can deal with their tablets individually.Parents were asked to bring their children's own tablets, and thus, reactions inherent to the children while playing with his tablet were observed.During the observations, children were never interfered with or directed.So as to ensure data reliability, analogous data collection reports were prepared by the researchers (Miles & Huberman, 2015, p.277).

Review of the tablet as a document:
In qualitative research, documents mean written, visual, digital or physical records already existing before research is conducted (Merriam, 2015, p.131).Through providing descriptive information and insight, the documents, which can be used in similar ways with the data obtained from observations and interviews, are defined as influential sources (Creswell, 2012;Merriam, 2015, pp. 145-147).In this study, tablets belonging to children were examined as a digital document.An analysis form was prepared for conducting a controlled document analysis process.This form that the content is shown in Table 2 aimed to determine the games and application in tablets, and to reveal and analyze their contents, features and instructions.

Interviews with parents:
Interviews enable researchers to obtain direct information about participants' opinions, experiences and feelings about an issue (Creswell, 2012;Patton, 2014).In the study, the semi-structured interview technique, which also provides researchers with chances to ask additional question besides their prepared questions lists, was used (Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle, 2006, p.124).During interviews, parents were asked questions about child-tablet interactions in detail.Interviews lasted about 25 minutes, and so as to minimize data loss, they were both recorded with the permission of parents and noted manually.

Data Analysis
Qualitative data analysis is defined as a process based on primarily interpretations and includes the organizing and summarizing of data, and presenting the results (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007).In the study, firstly the data of the notes obtained with analysis of tablets was analyzed.Data analysis units were accepted as application contents and existing records, and it was analyzed in accordance with the systematic form.
The data of the study obtained from observation and interviews was analyzed with the content analysis technique, which is one of the qualitative data analysis methods.According to Merriam (2015), all qualitative data analyses are somehow content analysis because interviews, records and documents are analyzed based on their contents (p. 195).Therefore, the recordings were first transcribed.To maintain ethical standards, there was no video recording made during the study.Thus, the observation notes taken by researchers were integrated into one form.The observation and interview data were coded by the researchers so as to examine in detail.These codes were categorized under similar themes.The triangulation method, which is conducted through using multiple data sources with the aim of ensuring validity and reliability in qualitative research, can also be practiced through including more than one researcher in the data collection and analysis processes (Merriam, 2015, p.206).Hence, the study data was analyzed by two researchers independently, and the findings were coded and checked as to whether they showed adequate association between each other (Miles & Huberman, 2015, p. 278).The data of the semi-structured interviews was coded based on considering all data rather than coding on the basis question.According to the reliability formula of Miles and Huberman (1994) [Reliability=agreement / agreement + disagreement], the convergent rate between the coders was calculated as 78.00%.For codes in which researchers disagreed, the researchers worked on them cooperatively and made a common decision.The observation data of the study was used in a supportive manner of the interview data.The analysis results were organized and presented, and direct citations were used to represent participants' opinions.

Results
The study findings were categorized under four main groups: factors influencing game selection, concerns and precautions, reasons for tablet use and the tablet as an educational tool.In order to summarize the study findings, the category, code and direct citation examples are presented in Table 3. "We couldn't tell him/her not to go out of the lines while coloring, he wasn't paying attentions to the lines… but on the tablet, when he clicked on an object with color, he saw that only inside was colored." When Table 3 is examined, the factors influencing game selection are categorized; elements of violence, gender, sense of achievement and external effects codes.In the category of worries and precautions, there are anti-social behavior, tablet addiction, harmful content and unrealistic expectations.It is seen that tablets are used as an educational tool for English learning, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive development codes, while reasons for tablet use include entertaining the child, parental effects and lack of outdoor games.

Factors Influencing Game Selection
Following the observations and interviews, it was concluded that children mainly prefer tablets for playing games.Parents (n=3) indicated that their children use tablets for shooting photographs and videos in addition to playing games, but the interview contents focused mainly on the game contents of tablets.In coding, the factors influencing game downloads in tablets were determined to be: elements of violence, gender, sense of achievement and external effects.

Elements of violence:
In interviews, it was seen that parents generally downloaded games to tablets.Although they said that they considered their children's preferences, parents (n=5) had their own criteria in choosing games to download.Their primary criteria was that games would not include elements of violence.Some parents' opinions concerning this coding are: "I pay special attention to selecting games without elements of violence because he might be afraid of some games," (Feride)."I particularly pay attention to games not including violence or not being harmful," (Neriman)."I strive to make sure that she doesn't play violent games," (Meltem).
According to the document analysis and observation results, elements of violence in children's tablets' applications contradict parents' opinions.Games using firearms, creatures known as fear factors and sound effects signaling violence are defined as elements of violence.For example, Ada played a game in which the player from a flying vehicle.She also played a zombie game and explained to the researchers that she tried to stop them by covering them with leaves.Parent's interviews also revealed that Ada constantly played this game at home.

Gender:
The common findings in the interview, observation and document analysis studies suggest that gender is an effective factor in children's game selection.It is also seen that parents generally emphasize gender in games and that they mean "games for girls" when they mention genders and games.Games geared towards girls in tablets were described as putting clothes on characters, puzzles with doll pictures, diet, make-up, baking and coloring games.Supported by observational findings, the common features of these games like using pink backgrounds, light music and giving instructions in a small girl's voice stand out.

Sense of achievement:
The information the participant parents gave during interviews reveals that children have a sense of achievement in playing tablet games.Children are observed to want to win or pass the games they play somehow, and ask for help from parents if they cannot do this on their own.Additionally, parents stated that they do not want children to play games which are based on winning and losing and which they think children will not be able to win.Parents prefer games which are appropriate for their children's developmental level, and which provide them with a sense of competency.Sample statements concerning this coding are: "I am against anything she can't complete on her own.I don't want her to feel incompetent due to games which are not appropriate for her age" (Işılay).
"She generally doesn't play games that allow her to lose.For instance, in her dentistry game, there are some problems in the patient's teeth, and she tries to fix them.When she fails, she asks for help from me" (Neriman).
Parents explained they sometimes stretched the rules while playing with their children because they enjoyed the game more when they felt like they were winning.Concerning this issue, a parent informed the researchers that his child did not see flexibility in tablet games, thus he did not seem to enjoy when he lost games.
"My child says that she didn't enjoy playing chess on the tablet much because the rules in tablet games are not flexible, but Burcu knows that I am showing flexibility and she becomes happy when she wins" (Ahmet).
It was observed that children demonstrate a number of physical and verbal reactions while playing games, and at some point, they turn into emotional reactions.However, parental opinions about this finding are different from observation notes.Parents state that they have not noticed verbal, physical or emotional reactions when their children win or lose in playing tablet games.They express opinions such as: "Ada never shows a physical reaction.Well, she does not react upon either winning or losing.He only plays a game commonly with his father.It's like 'Hey dad, it's your turn' or 'it's my turn'" (Feride).
"She doesn't react physically.When she loses normal games, she becomes furious, but for computer games, I haven't seen her acting like that, she is calm" (Meltem).However, in observation, both parallel and contradictory findings between parents' opinions and observation findings were found.It is also found that children change games when they get bored due to losing.It is observed that for children, winning is important, they feel an ambition to play a game over and over till they win, and they become happy when they finally win and become sad, or even sometimes furious and respond physically when they lose.In this context, during the observation it was found that all children somehow react to the game they play.For example, Ada was observed to show verbal reactions like "I need to win" while playing a game called Angry Birds.When her rhythm slowed down, she was observed to make a wry face.In another game, she was again observed to react like "…need to rack up", "vauuuv" and "…faster, faster".In an another example, in a game called Furit Ninja, Damla was slicing fruit on the screen first with one finger, but as the number of fruits increased, she started to use all five fingers on the screen.While playing this game, her sense of achievement was quite dominant and it was reflected on her behavior.In another game in which Ece took gold and escaped from the police, she was observed to show extreme reactions of joy with swinging her legs and body back and forth.Upon not being chased by the police she would cry, saying "I still haven't been caught".Burcu was observed to talk constantly while playing, to hide behind the tablet when she lost, and often to use loud expressions like "Oh God, we're losing" or "ayyy" etc.While playing, she was also observed to touch the screen very often and forcefully to speed up the game or when she became frustrated.

External effects:
In addition to factors like non-violent content, gender and sense of achievement, there are external (environmental) factors affecting parents' game selection.These additional factors are defined as: children want the games they see their friends playing (n=4); children see another game's advertisements while downloading a game (n=2), and parents generally prefer free games (n=3).

Worries and Precautions against Tablet Use
Parents expressed in the conducted interviews that they worry about tablet games.These worries result in their taking some precautions.In this category, these worries include anti-social behavior, tablet addiction, harmful content and unrealistic expectations.The precautions parents have taken against these worries are presented below.

Anti-social behaviour:
Owing to the increase in the number of homes with tablets and the common use of tablets among children, parents confess that they do worry about that their children may develop psychological problems.All parents feel uneasy about the possibility of their children becoming antisocial due to overuse of tablets.They think that their children might be detached from social life and also forget cultural values, which may result in a decline in family life.The statements reflecting these findings are given below: "I somewhat direct him, saying things like 'Your friends have come, don't play with your tablet.Go and play with them and with your toys.Actually, there are guests at home and you know, it is not our culture to ignore guests and play alone.'Well, I want him to learn about culture, too" (Feride).
"Playing with the tablet damages her.Apart from radiation, because it is still not proven thoroughly, she can become an anti-social child psychologically.She might experience difficulties in interacting with her surroundings, which can result in her becoming an unhappy individual.She wouldn't know how to communicate; she would become a passive individual" (Işılay).
The observation findings are also in accordance with parents' worries about the matter.It is observed that children, who were known to be friends and together during the observations, did not interact with each other, and did not even, communicate when they were with their tablets.These children were observed to be only interested in and focused on their tablets.

Tablet addiction:
The participant parents are aware that their children might face addiction to tablets.The advantageous features of tablets, according to parents, like easy transportability or rich content of games, can also lead to addictions.A parent expressed her worry about this matter below.
"She is already a TV addict, what if she became a tablet addict; too… the tablet is also something portable.When I bought it first, she used to play with it while going to and from school, and she is still playing.Sometimes it never leaves her hands… but the more she plays, the more addicted she will be" (Meltem).
"Children should have self-control.He should leave it when he has to, he should not become an addict.If we left him alone, of course he would always play with it" (Feride).
Parents who are concerned about tablet addiction did take some precautions.Some of these precautions were practiced as rules and limitations while others were taken without children perceiving them.Parents who set time limitations for playing with their tablet (n=4) said that they generally allowed them about 1 to 2 hours daily, and that had small conflicts when the time was over, as children did not want to leave tablet.It was also stated that instead of decreasing tablet use by setting rules or limitations, one of the other precautions taken by parents without their children's awareness is to not charge the tablet for some time or to hide the tablet.Parents' statements about this issue are: "When she plays for a long time, I limit her.I don't want her to be addicted to it.I mean, if it passes one hour, I intervene.Of course, she does not want to give it back at first, but then she lets it go.I need to say it a few times" (Neriman).
"… when I tell her that she can only play one hour, she disobeys me, saying things like 'I was going to do this, I haven't finished yet'-… She plays till the battery dies, and I don't charge it for a long time because she knows how to play even while its charging, so I always charge it on a hard to reach place.I am telling her that she has to wait till the charge is done, then she forgets about it" (Meltem).
"We haven't allowed my daughter to play with the tablet for long time.For example, when its battery died, I didn't charge it.From the very beginning, I tried to prevent her from forming a tablet habit" (Işılay).
Other precautions taken to prevent children from spending uncontrolled time with tablets, include limiting the number of the games in the tablet by deleting them, or downloading fewer games.Considering the interview findings, when compared with the time limitation precaution, lessening the number of games in the tablet by deleting or downloading a limited number of games is found to result in fewer conflicts between children and parents.Thus, these precautions are thought to prevent conflicts between children and parents.Parents talked about the precautions they have taken: "…if there were many games, she could play for long hours.Since there is a limited number of games in her tablet, she does not tax me.Thus, I did not have to set rules.I am downloading fewer games, and she is playing less" (Işılay).
"Sometimes I or his father deletes games from his tablet.Interestingly, he knows every game in the tablet.He is asking why his father deleted them.He says that he was playing them.But we have this kind of control, so instead of imposing a ban, we delete them surreptitiously" (Feride).

Harmful contents:
The interview results show that parents are quite concerned with harmful content on the internet.Parents who are aware of the fact that children play games or watch cartoons with tablets, can have access to various content through commercials, worry about that it can also facilitate children's access to unwanted and harmful contents.Parents who realize that their children can use the internet without any help (n=4), mentioned their various precautions so as to minimize this: "I did not provide her with any chances to go online.There are really bad things on the internet.Maybe some of them can be controlled, but there are also many things that can't be and I don't want her to know much or deal with it" (Işılay).
"He can only surf in Google Play store, we limited him so that he wouldn't surf on nonsense stuff.He downloads what he likes" (Feride).
The parents of children (n=3) who watch cartoons via especially Youtube, think that their children can access different cartoons via related videos and thus also have access to harmful content, too.The observation findings are consistent with parents' worries about this issue.The illiterate participant children were observed to be able to use the internet for watching cartoons without any guidance (n=3).It is found that children learn how to access various videos through application images and logos.One of the spontaneous dialogues during the observations was as follows: Unrealistic expectations: Another important concern of parents during the interviews was that the characters in the tablet games would result in children's unrealistic expectations.According to that parent, there is no difference between these games and violent games, and this situation will cause an even more serious problem in the future.His words concerning the issue are as follows: "I think there is no difference between Barbie and violent games in the tablet.My daughter emulates their clothes which can be changed easily and are many in number.She keeps saying 'I will buy this dress, that skirt… I will make my hair like that.Yeah mom, when I grow up, I will dye my hair blonde like Barbie, because Barbie has blonde hair.'It is also another danger, I think.For example, she does not look like Barbie now.In the future, she may think herself as not being beautiful, since she doesn't resemble Barbie.Her physique is not like Barbie's.Even her hair or eye color… I mean, she might emulate in the future.That's why I kind of start to feel afraid."

The Reasons for Tablet Use
When parents were asked how their children first came in contact with their tablet, the parents (n=4) stated that they bought the tablet for their personal use, but then their children started to spend time with it.This result confirms the fact that parents, who commonly mention both positive and negative aspects of tablets, are of considerable effect on their children's tablet use.The reasons for children's tablet use are categorized as entertaining the child, parental effects and lack of outdoor games.
Entertaining the child: Parents agreed on a common reason for their children's tablet use: tablets entertain the child.Parents emphasize the easy transportability of tablets by stating that they make use of tablet so as to amuse their children while they are doing their own things, and thus their children do not get bad-tempered and they can spare some time for themselves.Through portable tablets, they confess that they allow their children to play with it when the child is alone, they are busy or they are unable to take care of the child.Parents' opinions about this matter are below: "In fact, she plays with tablet compulsorily.When I meet with friends, I am with other mothers, and all the children there play with tablets, it makes her alone.There is nothing to do.She says she gets bored, and if I have the tablet with me there, I generally give it to her" (Işılay).
"I generally give the tablet to her when I have something to do…mostly at weekends, when I am at home and have a lot of stuff to do.At least, she can play till its battery dies" (Meltem).

Parental effects:
The participant parents mentioned that they have bought the tablet for their own personal or professional use (n=4), and thus their children met the tablet for the first time.This shows that the essential factor in children's spending time with tablet is their parent.
"A child does what you give her.If we are focusing on the tablet too much, they will do so as well.When you watch TV, she watches.Of course, if we use the tablet, she will tend to do so" (Ahmet).
"There is also a situation like that my husband is a software developer.There are computers and tablets in every corner of the house.We can't hide them because it's our job.Or we should completely shut down tablets and computers.But, unfortunately, we are not doing it" (Feride).

Lack of outdoor games:
The interviews revealed that one of the reasons for children's tablet use is that they spend long periods of time at home, get bored and thus they prefer to play with tablets.Parents (n=3) assert that when their children are together with their friends especially outdoors, they prefer to play different games with friends instead of asking for the tablet.
"My daughter has a close friend.They see and play often.They play in the park.While she is playing with her friend, there is neither the tablet nor anything else…" (Ahmet).
"Children don't go out that often, they are all 'apartment children'.And to some extent they watch cartoons totally alone.They tend to play with the tablet as there is no friend to play with.During the entire summer, my daughter was in the garden, and the tablet didn't come to her mind.But when she sat at home, she remembered.Thus children become addicted.Otherwise, I am sure that all children would prefer running around outside" (Işılay).
"Sometimes during the day, her friends offer to go to the park.She says that she is playing with the tablet, and then she will join them.I say to her that it will be night and you won't be able to go then, she should go right now.And then she goes to play outside.It is a little hard to get her out, but when she is out, the tablet is forgotten" (Meltem).

The Tablet as an Educational Tool
During the interviews, parents claimed that tablets, which can sometimes be of potential danger, can also be used with educational aims.All of the parents underscored the importance of the way to use tablets, and that the tablet would function in accordance with children's directions.Although there are variations in parents' statements about tablets as educational tools, the general perceptions towards tablets' use as education tools, are categorized under three groups.
Learning English: Parents emphasized that their biggest expectation from tablets as educational tools is to facilitate English language learning.Some parents (n=3) think that tablet applications and games contribute to language acquisition.The applications and games in which English songs are sung with images, and in which English meanings of objects, shapes, colors and animals are taught, are among the preliminary preferences of parents.The opinions related to this issue are: "I downloaded games in English consciously.I am sure that would contribute to her English learning" (Neriman).
"She plays games in English, and this way she learns about animals and objects in English" (Işılay).
"Sometimes he downloads games on his own.He finds the things he is interested in.For example, he downloads English games, too" (Feride).
Hand-eye coordination: Parents, thinking that some games in tablets strengthen hand-eye coordination, emphasized this feature of tablets as an educational instrument.During one-hour observations, it is shown that all the children play games like jigsaw puzzle, origami, coloring etc. at least once.The visual properties are absolutely of great importance in children's preferring such games.In jigsaw puzzles, various stimuli are given when child puts the piece into the right place.In such games, it is also found that the time spent and the desire to complete the game among children are higher than other applications.During observations of Bilge, a participant child, she mentioned about origami as her favorite game since for her this game requires the most skills.She was observed to focus most on this game and play it the longest (16 minutes).This game, in which the gamer is expected to put the pieces of an picture together, requires hand-eye coordination.The participant child, Burcu, was observed to have difficulty in putting the pieces into the right places at first, but then she continued to try, and she managed to do succeed.She was also observed to become happy when she succeeded.

Cognitive development:
Another group of tools the parents refer to is the educational use of tablets, are memory and attention games which support cognitive development.Finding the identical one and finding the differences between two pictures are among the game types parents accept as educational.According to parents, apart from games including violence, all other games somehow teach something to children, thus parents do not appraise such times as poor and unproductive.One parent says about this issue that: "… my daughter does not play harmful games.Or she doesn't play unnecessary games.So, I don't worry about it.I think, every game contributes something to her.Because, in games she realizes that new things can be produced out of specific mixtures.Or she learns that she should add them to the mixture in an order.Thus, I think they are beneficial to her" (Neriman).

Discussion, Conclusion & Implementation
This study revealed that the most commonly used application by children in tablets are games.In a study conducted by McKenney and Voogt (2010), the authors also found that the activity children spend the most time on is playing games.This situation can be due to the developmental features of preschoolers.Since many activities are done through playing games in preschool, the applications in tablets are presented in game format although they seem to support various developmental fields in children like literacy, mathematics, science and psycho-motor skills.For older age groups, there can be alternative applications in tablets, especially for supporting academic success (Enriquez, 2010;Koparan & Güven, 2012;Romney, 2011;Zhang, Trussell, Gallegos, & Asam, 2015) but, for preschoolers, it is generally limited to game applications as the children in this age group are illiterate and do not have academic success responsibility.
The current study findings suggest that parents take the elements of violence, gender, sense of achievement and external factors into consideration while selecting games to download, and that all parents take precautions not to download a game including violence.However, this statement was not supported with document analysis or observation results, and some games including elements of violence and fear were found in children's tablets.The study by Wu et al. (2014) reached similar findings and claimed that the digital games children played included aggressive, anti-social and risky behaviors.Ginsberg (2001) suggests that children need family monitoring so as to remain protected from potential harms of computer and internet use.The interviews in the study proved that parents did not have common tablet time together and they only interacted when children had difficulty and needed help.This result can be interpreted as that tablets, which are mostly used to entertain children, are seen as tools with which children can spend time alone.Concerning external factors like children wanting a game his/her friend is playing, parents sometimes have to download that game without any knowledge about game's content.At this point, that parents do not have adequate awareness about elements of violence in children's tablets and games can be associated with the fact that parents and children do not have common time to play with the tablet together.
According to the study findings, parents worry about their children's tablet use, which forces them to take some precautions against it.Thus, it can be inferred that parents worry that tablet use may result in anti-social behavior, addiction, being exposed to harmful content and unrealistic expectations.An interesting finding was that children develop unrealistic expectations via being influenced by Barbielike games in tablets.In their study with children ages 5-8 Ditmar, Halliwell and Ive (2006) assert that Barbie images influence small children and have negative effects on their body images.Cartoons, TV programs and children books with pictures are thought to cause similar results.Apart from these, almost unlimited features of characters and alternatives which are left up to children to choose, reinforce the idea that "I can own this" among children.Also, children who have limitless options for game characters but do not have such options in real life can feel dissatisfied or unhappy.A similar comment can be made for TV programs and commercials.Thus, children presume that many things they see on TV are real (Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 1986), and that cartoon characters' behaviors with superhuman powers do not correspond to real life, and that they cannot have all the products they see on TV may disappoint children and result in unhappiness (Doğan, 2003;Torlak, 2001;Yavuzer, 1988;Cited in: Karaca, Pekyaman, & Güney, 2007).The games provoking a sense of achievement and winning can be associated with children's unrealistic expectations.Hence, in the study by Wu et al. (2014), game contents like winning money, super powers and searching for gold are categorized under unrealistic expectations titles.Rewards such as gold, money, candy etc., given in almost any game, are thought to result in images in children's mind such as that life is based on winning and losing, and there will always be a reward following a win.
According to Holloway, Green and Livingstone (2013), children between the ages of 0 and 8 are at risk of being exposed to harmful content due to tablets which can easily access the internet, and the time wasted in front of a screen is to be strictly limited.In this context, the present study findings demonstrate that the precautions taken by parents mostly focus on time limitations and blocking harmful content, thus it is thought that there are still control deficits of presently played games' contents.According to study results which support this finding (Funk et al., 2009;Plowman et al., 2010) parents worried about the negative effects of technology and they think that they established the necessary balance, but they seemed incompetent in giving parental guidance to their children.Espinosa, Laffey, Whittaker and Sheng (2006), emphasized that technology could contribute highly to small children's learning processes, but that it would not be enough on its own and parents were to guide their children about how to use technology.
One of the important findings of this study is that the lack of outdoor activities is thought to be one of the reasons for children's tablet use.Factors such as the lack of outdoor activities stemming from the twenty-first century lifestyle, small sizes of existing playgrounds and limitations set by families owing to security issues, result in a decrease in time spent outside (Carver, Timperio, & Crawford, 2008;Karsten, 2005;Wridt, 2004).In this study, it is understood that when children have chances to play outside, they prefer spending time with their friends outside, and they tend to use tablets or watch TV when they are alone at home.A considerable amount of research has reached similar results (Anderson, Economos & Must, 2008;Hofferth & Sandberg, 2001;Lupu, Norel, & Laurentiu, 2012;Sisson, Broyles, Baker, & Katzmarzyk, 2010).Following the interviews with parents, it is found that today's children spend more time with tablets rather than watching TV.In this context, it is thought that children who are passive while watching TV become active, although partially, with digital technology applications (Plowman & Stephen, 2003), thus they prefer tablets to TV, just like they prefer playing with his friend to playing with a tablet.
It is stated that parents think that the use of digital technology would contribute to children's education processes.One of the basic reasons for buying such technologies is its use with educational aims (Plowman & Stephen, 2003).In this study, parents mentioned that they download games improving hand-eye coordination, English and cognitive development, and that in this way, tablets could be used as an effective educational instrument.Lieberman, Bates and So (2009) underline that applications which possess features like well-designed, open-ended and stimulating children to think, can be effective in children's problem solving skills, language, cognitive, hand-eye coordination and thinking ability development, and they add that applications including drawing, coloring and music can improve children's creativity.In related studies, findings suggesting that tablet can be used as an education instrument in preschool period can be found (Aronin & Floyd, 2013;Banister, 2010;Couse & Chen, 2010;Hernandez, 2014;Kucirkova, Messer, Sheehy, & Panadero, 2014;Neumann & Neumann, 2014).Wu et al. (2014) assert that families generally make use of digital technologies with educational goals, and the applications including empowering memory, improving hand-eye coordination and attention development, preparation for literacy, and learning science, are preferred with this intention.The study also revealed that parents can be said to accept tablets as educational tools in preschool owing to the widespread use of technology at higher grades due to the FATIH Project (an initiative project by the Turkish Ministry of National Education to deliver technological equipment to state school across Turkey).Thus, technology which is thought to be necessary for school success in the following years can be gained in preschool.
The observations of the study proved that children play tablet games which are acknowledged as being used for educational aims, for a long time and with total attention.Considering the physical factors in these games, children are reinforced with rich visual and auditory effects whenever they do something right.In a review of related literature, it is asserted that digital games can contribute to children's learning processes through increasing their motivation and interest (Aronin & Floyd, 2013;Henderson & Yeow, 2012;Mouza, 2005;Melhuish & Falloon, 2010;Peters, 2009).In light of these findings, tablets, which are thought to have positive effects on learning when compared to traditional methods (Banister, 2010;Cause & Chen, 2010;Enriquez, 2010), are accepted as effective educational tools by parents owing to their increasing children's motivation and attention spans.
In this study, parents stated that tablets would certainly contribute to their children in some way through the applications they download.From this point of view, according to parents, every game is not downloaded with educational aims but this does not mean that games do not support children's developments.In a review of related literature, there have been findings in a similar sense.According to Subrahmanyam et al. (2000), games children play in their free time at home have positive effects on their problem solving, spatial perception, visual skills and attention development.It is interesting that parents are only aware of the educational function of tablets.In his study focusing on media instruments and family-children interaction at home, Huisman (2012) suggests that via videos and communication applications, children can learn about various cultures, animal species, countries, and with digital photography technology, children can both take and share photos.
Considering the study results, it is found that tablets are mostly used for playing games by preschoolers, and parents' knowledge is generally limited to game applications in tablets.Besides the educational games parents download, other applications like video and photography programs can be used with educational aims.For example, following a nature trip with children, reviewing and talking about the photographs taken during that trip can facilitate the educational use of tablets.Another result of this study is that parents generally do not spend common time with their children and tablets, which stems from parents' lack of knowledge about games' content and children's reactions.So to compensate, parent-child time with the tablet can be arranged and monitored.
The results obtained from this study indicate that the tablets in early childhood often used for play.When this finding is compared with the results of studies with different participants, it is seen that similar results are achieved in the field.In a study by Eren (2015) investigating the opinions of secondary school and high school students about tablet usage, the lack of gaming practices on the tablets used in school was pointed out by the students as a negative opinion.In addition, Çetinkaya and Keser (2014), in their work with high school and secondary school teachers and students, have found that students often use game applications on tablets.When the results obtained from different studies are put together, it is thought that this interest in tablet games from pre-school period can be channeled by education.As a matter of fact, the research findings are; children enjoy learning with tablet (Tekerek, Altan, & Gündüz, 2014) and that the lessons can be processed through games (Eren, 2015).In this context, from the preschool period, it is possible to determine the favourite game applications frequently used by educational subjects and suggest the integration of educational contents into them.
Considering the limited number of related studies, the potential fields of use for tablets especially at home during the preschool period are not well known.Thus, future studies can be conducted to determine which applications would be appropriate for children's developmental progress, and how they could be used effectively by families at homes.Lastly, since student's use of tablets at school is supervised by teachers, future studies can address raising parents' awareness of supervising their children's use of tablets outside of school.
Burcu: "…I know where internet connection is good in our home.Only in the living room.So, I am going there.I open Youtube, it's already in the tablet, I can watch cartoons."Researcher: "Well, what are you writing for watching cartoon, how do you open it?"Burcu: "I write nothing because the films open themselves.I clicked on white thing in the red box and I watch films."

Table 1 .
Information about Participants.

Table 2 .
Document Analysis of Tablets.

Table 3 .
Category, Code and Examples.
"We bought the tablet for us two years ago, but he has been using it since we bought it."Lack of outdoor games "During the entire summer my daughter was in the garden.It didn't even come to her mind.But when she sits at home, it comes to her mind…"