Abstract
The growing dependence of children on the internet nowadays has sparked genuine concerns among their parents and guardians. Children are becoming more reliant on the internet, although there is limited knowledge regarding how parents regulate their children's internet usage in their daily lives. With this, this study was conducted to explore parents’ experiences and perspectives on their mediation roles regarding with the internet use of their children. Specifically, this qualitative study sought to a) explore the parental mediation strategies used by the parents on the internet use of their children; b) explore the challenges encountered by the parents in mediating the internet use of their children; and c) explore how do the parents address the problems they encounter in mediating the internet use of their children. Using the purposive sampling technique, this study identified 15 participants who fitted in the inclusion criteria set by the study. These participants were utilized for the gathering of data though in-depth interview and focused-group discussion. Findings of the study revealed that: i) on the mediation strategies employed by the parents on their children’s internet use, it was revealed that the imposition of a time limit on the amount of time that children spend engaging in activities online is a must, the provision of appropriate guidance and monitoring to children while they are online is effective and the utilization of various other specific mediation strategies, such as the instructional mediation strategy, the mind conditioning strategy, and the active mediation/ strategy are also effective; ii) on the challenges parents encountered on mediating their children’s internet use, it was revealed that children are lacking in emotional bondage and are exhibiting aggressive behaviors, children are fond of imitation; they imitate what they believe to be positive from social media and other online/internet applications and it was discovered that parents consider their attention and involvement in mediating their children's internet use to be significant; iii) on how the parents address the problems they encounter on mediating their children’s internet use, it was revealed that parents consider the role of positive discipline plays in mediating the internet use of their children, parents seek assistance from professionals and trustworthy individuals and resources in order to effectively mediate the internet use of their children and parents injected valuing and value integration while mediating the internet use among children.