Adult and Child Interactions When Using Digital Technologies

Young children increasingly encounter digital technologies in their everyday lives, yet little is known about how adults and children interact with these tools during spontaneous, unstructured play. This study examined adult–child interactions in a dedicated digital play space located within a children’s museum on a university campus. Thirty-six families with a child aged 2.5–5 years old attended 2-h digital playgroup sessions, during which continuous video and audio recordings captured dyadic exchanges. Using inductive analysis of 71 digital interaction episodes, we identified three interrelated themes that shaped how digital play unfolded: expertise, control, and pace. These themes influenced whether adults supported or constrained children’s agency as they navigated digital and non-digital play materials. The findings show how adults’ moment-to-moment decisions—including their own curiosity about the technology—can redirect, extend, or limit children’s discoveries. Digital tools created distinctive opportunities for joint exploration but also introduced challenges to interactional richness when adult attention shifted toward the technology rather than the child. This paper offers an account of how digital play is co-constructed and highlights the importance of attuned adult participation in technology-inspired play.