“Learning with and learning about media”
Digital media in childhood – Early childhood digital education is the focus of LEARNTEC 2026
By the age of two, 40 per cent of children already own their own tablet; by the age of four, this figure rises to more than half. These are the findings of “The 2025 Common Sense Census”[1], an American survey on media use among children aged between zero and eight. The study is part of a long-running research series on children’s media consumption. Although it is based on US data and media use is more prevalent there than here, it nevertheless provides insightful pointers for the European context. For example, the report highlights the convergence of early childhood and technology: children today no longer grow up without digital media, only to encounter it later. Instead, digital media accompanies their development from the very start – and this, in turn, shapes modern parenting.
Parents today are faced with the question of whether digital media in early childhood represents more of an opportunity or a risk, and to what extent young children should already be using digital media themselves. Four experts from the fields of early childhood and media education – including speakers from the lecture series on early childhood education at LEARNTEC 2025, Europe’s leading trade fair for digital education in schools, higher education and the workplace – have explored these questions. Their findings revealed that the key factor is how children are supported in their use of digital media. But how can the use of digital media be shaped in a conscious and reflective manner? And how can not only parents, but also nurseries and other early childhood education settings support children in this?
“Digital media are simply there today” – On the ubiquity of digital media and their significance for early self-efficacy
It is now almost impossible to imagine adult life without digital media – and this naturally has an impact on children too. Compared to previous generations, “digital media are simply there today and are part of everyday life,” says Dr Susanne Eggert, Director of Research and Practice at the Institute for Media Education in Munich. She has been researching early childhood media acquisition for many years and explains that children do not perceive digital media as anything special, as they have been just as present in their everyday lives from day one as chairs, plates or music boxes. In her view, digital media need to be discovered just as consciously as other objects. However, children soon become aware of their functions and, for example, recognise familiar faces during video calls.
Screen-based media in particular are of interest to children from an early age, adds Eggert, because children gain important experiences of self-efficacy when they learn that their touches or movements can directly cause something to happen on the screen. Furthermore, according to Eggert, digital media can also “contribute to the fulfilment of developmental tasks. For example, children experience a sense of achievement when they tap an icon on a screen and the exact app they wanted to open launches; at the same time, this promotes their fine motor skills.” However, the extent to which children perceive digital media and how they use it is, in turn, strongly linked to their upbringing.
“Children pick up a lot from their parents’ behaviour” – On role models, unhealthy media habits and a reflective engagement with media
In our “digitalised and mediatised world”, as Eggert describes it, digital media have long since ceased to serve merely as entertainment, but also assist in coping with everyday life. As a result, many parents are no longer even aware of when or how often they reach for their smartphone. Many also find it difficult to change these habits following the birth of a child. According to Eggert, this makes it all the more important that parents – who play a crucial role as role models for their children, particularly in the early years – “set an example to their children of a conscious and purposeful approach to digital media”. For when children “observe that their parents are often using their smartphones, they conclude that this must obviously be very important. Like their parents, they then want to use it as often as possible. The reverse is also true: if young children only occasionally see their parents with a smartphone in their hands, they conclude that it is not really that important.”
Peggy Keßner, an education and STEM [2] consultant at the non-profit foundation Kinder forschen – Germany’s largest educational initiative for educational specialists, teachers and managers in nurseries, primary schools and after-school care centres, based in Berlin – agrees. She explains that children adopt much of their parents’ behaviour, which naturally also applies to the use of digital media in everyday life. “A TV that’s always on or constantly checking one’s mobile phone thus becomes the norm. This can strain the parent-child relationship and encourage unhealthy media habits.” The latter, however, are also encouraged when, according to Eggert, parents provide their children with digital media primarily to satisfy their own needs, for example whilst waiting or when the child is unhappy. This is where the concept of media education comes into play.
Because many parents are unsure what a thoughtful engagement with media should look like in the early years of life, Eggert argues that parents need “support from the very beginning on how to use digital media in a targeted way to meet their children’s needs and support their development”. She advises parents to limit the time their children spend using media and to accompany them as often as possible whilst they are using media. Peggy Keßner: “It is important that parents consciously reflect on their own use of media – even in the presence of their children: when, for how long and for what purpose do we use devices? If media are used for information or learning, children experience technology as a tool. It is helpful to use devices together in a meaningful way.” She also points out that nurseries could build on media literacy where parents reach their limits. But should screen-based media be used in nurseries at all? Is it the nursery’s role to guide children as they enter the digital world? And could nurseries even afford to be role models for the mindful use of digital media?
“Nurseries can set an example by using digital media in a targeted and pedagogically meaningful way” – On practical challenges, structural requirements and concrete measures
Although digital education has long been part of the nursery’s remit, “the digital education mandate in German nurseries lay largely dormant until 2015,” says Eva Reichert-Garschhammer, former deputy director of the State Institute for Early Childhood Education and Media Literacy (IFP) and responsible for the nursery digitalisation strategy in Bavaria until May 2025. The main reason for this, she explains, was the controversial debate among experts as to whether the opportunities or the risks outweighed one another in early childhood. As a result, “uncertainty regarding how to approach their digital education mandate” prevailed in many nurseries for a long time. According to Reichert-Garschhammer, the view that remains dominant internationally to this day, and which also underpins the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, is that “the early development of media literacy within a child-friendly, risk-free framework emphasises the learning opportunities that media offer children whilst at the same time providing the best protection against media risks.” In contrast, brain researchers in particular, as well as experts in paediatrics and criminology, often take the view that screen-based media could be too harmful to children or lead to addiction, and that it is therefore better if children in nursery schools have as little contact with them as possible, or ideally none at all. “What is demonstrably risky for children is high levels of passive media consumption for entertainment purposes, which is not at all the focus in nurseries; the focus in nurseries is on active engagement and learning with and about media, for which there is no known scientific evidence of risk,” clarifies Reichert-Garschhammer.
It was not until 2016, when in Germany “the digital transformation in education was declared a priority in education policy and the Council of Europe called for the implementation of all children’s rights applicable from birth – to participation, protection and education in the digital world within the EU – as part of a balanced approach to opportunity and risk management”, a shift began to emerge in nurseries too, explains Reichert-Garschhammer. Attention and openness towards digital education have since increased significantly, yet fundamental problems persist: a critical to dismissive attitude towards the subject remains widespread; staff also feel inadequately qualified; technical equipment in nurseries is often outdated or insufficient; and in the areas of IT and data protection, there is sometimes little support from the funding bodies. Furthermore, staff shortages and high turnover mean there is a lack of time and resources to adequately support children in developing a creative, critical and safe approach to digital media. Staff therefore often perceive the integration of digital media into their educational work as an additional burden.
According to Reichert-Garschhammer, for nurseries to fulfil their digital educational mandate, political and structural support is needed, as also recommended by the Standing Scientific Commission of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs in its 2022 report ‘Digitalisation in the Education System’. On the one hand, digital education in childcare centres – encompassing media and IT education and involving parents – must be explicitly included as a standalone educational objective in the federal states’ framework and guidance plans, with teaching and learning materials made available on online platforms. Secondly, it is necessary to embed the digital educational mandate of the nursery in vocational training and early childhood education degree programmes, as well as to establish a comprehensive range of in-service training and further education opportunities for educational staff in order to meet the high, ongoing need for professional development. According to the DIGIPaed study, the number of qualifications obtained through initial and continuing training has a positive effect on motivation and the frequency of digital media use: nursery staff appear to overcome their fears and gain greater confidence and enjoyment in carrying out digital educational activities with children. According to Reichert-Garschhammer, a simple basic setup that includes tablets as digital all-rounders is sufficient for a modern IT infrastructure in nurseries; to ensure this is implemented swiftly, the much-called-for DigitalPakt KITA is needed. Last but not least, Reichert-Garschhammer emphasises that a nursery-specific media concept, embedded within the nursery’s overall framework, is important as a “binding and guiding working basis”. Meanwhile, Reichert-Garschhammer notes, several federal states have launched corresponding digitalisation strategies for nurseries – some with federal funding – and their number is growing. Digital education is already enshrined as a specific objective in ten, and soon even eleven, of the 16 educational plans. The involvement of specialist advisory services has proven effective; as part of their support for providers and management, these services can gradually encourage all childcare centres to engage with the topic and take advantage of training opportunities.
To support children in their digital environment and serve as role models for the mindful use of digital media, childcare centres should create a framework in which children can engage with media without risk, says Dr Kirsten Bresch, a media educator with many years’ experience in media education and media use in early years and primary education, and who has been deputy head of pedagogy at the Stadtmedienzentrum Karlsruhe for several years. Bresch, Reichert-Garschhammer and Keßner agree that if digital media were used in nurseries in a targeted manner, to an appropriate extent, with age-appropriate content and as practical learning tools, children could understand from an early age how media is created, how digital media works and how it can be used creatively for their own topics, ideas and goals. “With a digital voice recorder or a tablet, children can record their own audio plays or document special experiences. A digital microscope or a camera opens up entirely new perspectives when exploring nature,” says Keßner, citing a few examples. This would enable children to develop important digital skills. According to Bresch, the aim is to enable “children to discover that they can create media, but also that content accessible via media is created by others. This should help them realise that media are interpretations of the world.” These experiences, in turn, facilitate “learning with and learning about media.”
For this to succeed, nurseries should ensure “good educational support in dealing with media”, says Keßner. It is important that educational staff reflect on the content together with the children and that they “adopt an open attitude, seeing themselves not only as facilitators but also as learners in the shared process”, adds Bresch.
“Thinking holistically about the potential of digital media” – On shared responsibility and early childhood participation
Digital media have become an integral part of children’s everyday lives, and pretending they can be kept out of early education is unrealistic. Children today inevitably come into contact with media, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, in a controlled or uncontrolled manner. Therefore, the crucial question is not whether media are used, but how children deal with them responsibly. Where clear rules, thoughtful use and mindful guidance are lacking, children are left to their own devices with digital content. Nurseries can counteract this, as they are the only place where all children – regardless of background, resources or media experiences at home – can learn to engage with digital media in a shared and responsible manner. Digital education must therefore not be left to chance. “Through dialogue with families, early years professionals can support children in processing and reflecting on their experiences with media. Access to diverse information and discussion about it are essential for children to participate in society and help shape it,” Bresch concluded.
“We are convinced that early years education plays a key role when it comes to the responsible use of digital media. This is precisely where LEARNTEC comes in: we want to provide guidance for professionals, promote dialogue and offer concrete practical ideas. By once again dedicating a separate focus to the topic of early childhood education, we are making it clear that digital education must be considered from the very start in order to equip children with the important skills they will need in their future educational and professional careers,” emphasises Stefanie Ruf, Project Manager at LEARNTEC. LEARNTEC 2026 will take place from 5 to 7 May 2026 at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre and will once again feature a programme focus on early childhood education on the third day of the event.
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The talks on early childhood education will take place on Thursday, 7 May from 2 pm on the Main Stage in Hall 2.
Speakers on early childhood education at LEARNTEC 2026 include:
- Lena Otte, Managing Director of Time-2-Explore GmbH
- Dr Kirsten Bresch, Deputy Head of Education at the Karlsruhe City Media Centre
- Jan Ole Rixen, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) & Prof. Dr Kathrin Gerling, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and Accessibility at the Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics (IAR) within the Faculty of Computer Science at KIT
