Examining the relationship between maternal media mediation, children's perceived communication skills, and mother-child communication

This study aims to examine the relationship between maternal media mediation, perceived communication skills of 5–6-year-old children, and mother-child communication. With the development of digital technologies, children's interactions with media have increased; this has made mothers' media usage practices and intra-family communication dynamics more significant. In this context, the study aims to reveal the impact of mothers' roles in media mediation and family communication processes on children's perceived communication skills. The research is designed using a relational survey model. The study population consists of mothers and teachers of 5–6-year-old children attending preschool institutions in the province of Hatay. The sample was determined using a convenience sampling method, and 97 mothers and teachers participated in the study. Data were collected using the Demographic Information Form, the Early Childhood Parental Media Mediation Scale, the Parent-Child Communication Assessment Tool, and the Communication Skills Evaluation Scale for 5–6-Year-Old Children. According to the research findings, there was no statistically significant relationship between mothers' media mediation attitudes and children's perceived communication skills. However, a positive correlation was identified between maternal media mediation and mother-child communication. This suggests that while mothers' attitudes toward media support intra-family interaction processes, they may not directly affect children's communication skills. These results indicate that children's communication skills are shaped not only by structural-demographic variables such as the mother's education level, media usage duration, or number of children, but also by deeper factors such as parenting style, the nature of interactions with media content, and the quality of emotional communication.