Abstract
In order to understand grandparents’ types of engagement, or lack of it, in their grandchildren’s interactions with digital technologies, it is first useful to identify three things. One is grandparents’ perspectives on the influences shaping modern parenting that were explored in the preceding chapter. These can inform grandparents’ understanding of why their children, as parents, act in certain ways, including how they try to manage their children’s technological experiences. Second, it is important to appreciate grandparents’ own understanding of their grandparenting role and its limits. These possibilities are initially outlined in the literature review and then explored further in reporting the Toddlers and Tablets findings. And third, while acknowledging the range and diversity of grandparenting, it is necessary to examine grandparents’ own perceptions of the place of touchscreens in children’s lives. In the light of these three factors, it is easier to understand any grandparent interventions. Lastly, interview material from the parents also provides some clues to how parents evaluate grandparents’ actions....