For busy parents juggling work, chores and child raising, the temptation to park the kids in front of the TV or put an electronic device in their hands can be one of the strongest.
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And while experts agree too much TV and tech isn't good for a child's early development, parents need not worry about moderate exposure, especially if they involve themselves closely.
Childcare and early education professional Chamalee Prathiraja, who was this week named one of Australia's top Family Day Care staff, says parents should feel empowered to introduce technology to their young children.
"As long as you support children to use technology wisely and interactively, [watching TV is] perfectly fine," she says.
Her top tip for parents is to be thoughtful about the movie or TV programs they want their children to watch and before turning it on asking children to predict what is going to happen. Parents can follow through with a discussion afterwards.
Dancing or singing along with what they are seeing on their screens is another way of using programming positively, Mrs Prathiraja said.
This approach, Mrs Prathiraja says, encourages children to be active rather than passive consumers, mitigating the negative aspects of technology's effects on children's learning and communication. As a bonus, it keeps them physically active.
She recommends allowing children to engage with media for a limited period of time - between 30 and 45 minutes per day - but to make this period in front of the screen as interactive as possible for them.
Children's education expert Associate Professor Kate Highfield, of the University of Canberra, agrees and sees this approach as "an example of literacy skill development".
According to Associate Professor Highfield, parents should "make informed decisions on what is quality for their child", for instance by engaging in "co-viewing" whereby parents are aware of what their child is consuming and using this as "fuel for conversation".
Co-viewing doesn't necessarily entail parents sitting next to their child on the couch and watching along with them, but can involve keeping an ear out for what they are watching or streaming the program from their device to a smart television.
Personally, Associate Professor Highfield "would rather children not wear headphones" so that parents can be aware of what they are consuming.
Mrs Prathiraja - who was named this year's National Coordinator of the Year at the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards for Family Day Care Australia - recognises drawbacks that technology can bring for a child's upbringing but also believes it can be useful in "preparing children for global citizenship" in an ever interconnected world.
Another morsel of wisdom Mrs Prathiraja, an Educational Leader at Communities at Work Family Day Care, shares is applicable to numerous aspects of parenting: leading by example.
Be it in the use of technology or in eating behaviours, Mrs Prathiraja recommends to lead by example, for instance by eating one's own vegetables first and ideally eating the same food as your children.
This also applies to media behaviour, says Associate Professor Highfield, as children "are biologically wired to mimic their parents", which is why parents also "need to be modelling good digital habits".
