Effect of implementing parental strategies on preventing digital overdependence among their preschool children

Background : Overuse of digital devices is a practice known as "digital overdependence," which can have a number of adverse implications on children’s socialization, physical and mental wellbeing, sleep quality, and psychological dependency. Additionally, it negatively impacts preschoolers' general development. Aim : the current study aimed to determine the effect of implementing parental strategies on preventing digital overdependence among their preschool children. . Research design: A quazi experimental design was used to fulfill its aim . Subjects: 218 participant parents divided equally to 109 for rural and 109 for urban nurseries who were registered at the selected nurseries at the time of the study. Tool of data collection : Five questionnaires were used tool (1) Sociodemographic criteria, (2) Over-dependence criteria of digital devices (3) Problematic technology use scale for young Children (HFS-P) (4) The proposed causes of digital overdependence (5) The proposed preventive strategies of overdependence. Results: the current study showed that, 85.8% of total sample aged 5 years old, 57.3 % of participant mothers aged 20 :< 30 years old. About 41.7% of the total sample (21.1 % and 20.6 % of those at urban and rural areas respectively) spent 3:4 hours per day on the internet, (85.8%) of the participant pre-school children had headache, (76.6%) had blurred vision and (64%) had eye redness. Conclusion: 58.8 % of the total sample divided into 26.2 % and 32.6 % of urban and rural residence aged 5 years old. There was a statistically significant relation between pre-school level of internet addiction and the problematic technology use domains except effect on development. Indeed, 3.55 ±.20964 of participant preschool children mean scores as reported by their parents prefer digital life to real life, which decreased to 2.44 ± .23973 after implementing the preventive strategies. Recommendations: Encourage children to read books or tales in the library, play in groups, and participate in sports in the sports clubs to help them improve their mental and physical skills.


Introduction
Ivan Goldberg, a physician in New York, originally described internet addiction illness in 1996.Goldberg substituted the term "substance" with "internet" while applying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM 5)-IV criteria for addiction to substances.Behavioral addiction was included as a recent category of mental illnesses in Substance-Related as well as Addictive illnesses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM 5).Also, compulsive gambling was the diagnostic for behavioral addiction, and internet gaming disorder was the subtype (Lee & Bhang, 2023).Addiction, in its broadest sense, may be described as an overly reliance on a certain good, drug, object, or technology.Similar to an obsession, compulsion, or yearning is addiction.It may be extended to the pervasive smartphone gadgets that have become as a serious global health issue, in addition to substances and gambling.Addiction to smartphones implies everyday excessive usage, recurrent use, and damaging conduct.It is feasible to use a smartphone anywhere, at any time, due to its mobility and accessibility.One type of technology addiction that could be recognized is smartphone addiction (Burke, 2019).Furthermore, although being a useful tool for communication, cell phones are known to have negative side effects if misused.Shockwave radioactive radiation from mobile phones has a different negative impact on children's bodies (Hanief, 2023).Preschoolers are highly drawn to smart technologies, such as cellphones.Moreover, according to Park & Park, (2021), preschoolers who utilize smart gadgets may have an addiction rate of one in five.Preschoolers are more likely to become hooked to smart devices (as smartphones as well as tablets) because to their over-reliance on technology and lower cognitive abilities compared to adults.People now live in a time of rapid technological growth.Today's communities find it impossible to conceive living without the internet, cellphones, and computers that power them.However, technology also has drawbacks.Concerns about their children's over reliance on the internet are common among parents.The quantity of time the kids spend playing online games and their resistance to cutting back on time are the two main causes of the parents' worries.The social lives of children are being impacted by the excessive amount of time they spend on digital electronics.Kids refuse to eat, sleep, complete their homework, or even go outside and play (Sharma, 2021).Early infancy is so essential to a child's growth and wellness.A research suggests that young children's health may suffer as a result of an over reliance on screen media.Even if smart technology is useful for raising children in today's world, too much screen time has a different of detrimental effects on a child's development and maturation.Decreased visual acuity, shorter sleep duration, a higher chance of obesity, delayed cognitive and linguistic development, a decline in social contact, and a danger to physical wellbeing due to musculoskeletal problems are all associated with longer screen usage (Hu et al., 2019).Children between the ages of one and six who are overly dependent on and use cellphones excessively have an impact on their sociability and activity levels as well as their emotional sensitivity.Additionally, a digital gadget addiction can disrupt family unity and lead to parent-child conflict.Up to twelve to sixteen times each day, parents and preschoolers' interactions or activities may be interrupted by digital gadgets.Consequently, it's critical to comprehend the elements causing or mitigating kids' addiction to smart gadgets (Lee & Kim, 2022).Additionally, the harmful impacts of technology addiction in preschool-aged children can be social, psychological, as well as physical; these impacts vary depending on the child's traits, the type of gadget, and the quantity and duration of use.Over-reliance on digital devices results in problematic phone use.Preschoolers who are addicted to technology typically engage in less physical activity, which raises their risk of obesity, ocular, sleep, and musculoskeletal issues.Psychologically, preschoolers who are addicted to technology are more likely to experience addictive disorders, sadness, anxiety, aggressive and violent conduct, and difficulty telling the difference between truth and fiction.Studies that are pertinent to the evidence show that children's problematic technology utilization has a detrimental impact on their peer relationships (Abdulla et al., 2023).In the same setting, low academic achievement, issues with social and linguistic development, and inappropriate technology usage in preschoolers are linked.Socially, addiction to technology is linked to less family time also the communication, more social isolation, as well as worse development of interpersonal skill in preschoolers (Nassar et al., 2022).Evidences on the potential health and developmental risks of screen usage for children below five years old was conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
They advise controlling young children's media use in an organized manner by establishing time and content restrictions and encouraging parent-child interaction during screen time (American Psychology Association, 2019).The nurse's job should be to educate parents on the value of limiting their daily screen time, which includes using a computer, TV, mobile device, and DVD.They should also assist in helping parents comprehend what their children are seeing by co-viewing with them.Additionally, providing parents with health education about the significance of observing their children's media consumption and the applications they use or download, testing apps before the child utilized them, playing together, finding out what the child thinks of the apps, and preventing screen time for parents, kids, and bedrooms.In fact, the nurse ought to educate the child caretaker on the value of family time and advise them to use their phones' "do not disturb" feature during this time (Drouin, McDaniel, &Newsham, 2020) Research Significance Despite the fact that all youngsters have trouble with improper technology use.Preschool involves a number of crucial developmental activities related to children's social, psychological, motor, and physical growth.Maintaining this stage in a healthful manner is crucial for children's development.Preschoolers' exposure to technology is increasing due to its increased use in younger age groups in recent years, which might be harmful to their development (Konca, 2022).Preschoolers who use technology for two to three hours a day on average run the danger of not meeting the healthy usage guidelines set out by international organizations (American Academy of Pediatrics 2016).
Also in relation to a recent poll, ninety-two percent of people on the planet currently own a mobile phone.Of which thirty one percent acknowledge that they never put their phones away.With cell phones readily available to them at all times, over ninety percent of parents give their children access to them.All of this provides ample justification for discussing mobile phone addiction, particularly in light of potential risks to children's health (Khan, 2019).Egypt's mobile phone penetration rate in the third quarter of 2022 was about 94.3%, down from 97.9 % in the same quarter of the last year (Galal, 2022).There were 95.75 million connections mobile on Egypt in January 2021.Between January 2020 and January 2021, there was a 2.7 million (+2.9%) rise in Egypt's mobile connection count.In January 2021, the proportion of mobile connections in Egypt's population was 92.7%.Note: Since many people have several mobile connections, the percentage of people with mobile connections may approach one hundred percent (The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, 2021).Methodology: Aim of the study:To determine the effect of implementing parental strategies on preventing digital overdependence among their pre-school children through the following objectives 1.To assess over-dependence criteria of digital devices and its proposed causes among the pre-school children.2. To determine the problematic technology use state among the pre-school children before and after implementing parental strategies.
3. To determine the degree of digital overdependence among preschool children.4. To assess physiological complaints among preschool children.

Research hypothesis:
1. Parents who will receive the preventive parental strategies will have improved mean scores after implementation than before.2. The mean scores of problematic technology use domains among preschool children will be improved after implementing related parental preventive strategies than before.

Subjects and Methods Research Design:
A quazi experimental design was used to fulfill the aim of the actual research.

Settings
The researchers prepared 2 lists combined 87 nurseries for rural and urban nurseries.Minia City of Minia Governorate.Using simple random technique, the researchers selected 3 nurseries to be representative to rural nurseries including Elborgaiah, Aboswelam and Damsher.In the same manner, the researchers randomly selected Allomty, Shalaby and Elekhsas to be representative to urban nurseries.Sample A stratified random sample was utilized by dividing the nurseries into 2 strata involving rural and urban sectors by making a list to each, then 3 nurseries including rural nurseries numbers were The reliability coefficients were interpreted by taking this into consideration.Measurement tools must be 70 or higher to be dependable (Can, 2019).Scoring System: each 5 Likert responses were scored from 1: 5 for completely disagree equal 1, somewhat disagree equal 2, undecided equal 3, somewhat Agree equal 4 and completely agree equal 5.The scores were reversed according to the direction of questions.The total scores for each domain were computed separately as a summation of each allocated items as following: Continuity of Use containing 8 items were summated from zero to and multiplied by 8 to be from 0:8 divided into mild from 0: >3, moderate from 4 : <6 and severe from 6: 8 Resistance to Control containing 6 items were summated from zero to 1 and multiplied by 6 to be from 0 :6 divided into mild from 0: <4, moderate from 4 :<5 and severe from 5:6 Effect on Development containing 5 items were summated from zero to 1 and multiplied by 5 to be from 0:5 divided into mild from 0: <3, moderate from 3 : <4 and severe from 4: 5. Then using chi square test the results were compared with the level of internet addiction for each domain as shown in the relationship

Validity:
Face validity It refers to the extent to which the tool appears on surface "face" to assess the intended variables.It is a subjective and initial judgment about whether the content of the test seems appropriate and relevant.At the current research, the researchers checked face validity by analyzing the interviews with the participant parents.The researchers probed for correctness, thoroughness, understanding, and viability.They also asked the parents of the participants to clarify their responses to the questionnaires in order to verify understanding.Content validity: Five experts in the fields of community health nursing (three experts) and psychiatric nursing (two experts) evaluated the questionnaire for content validity.

Ethical Consideration:
Ethical approval for the study was secured from the Scientific and Ethical Committee of the Faculty of nursing at Minia University.Parents were given information about the study's goals and anticipated results during the initial appointment.Participants were assured of the research's safety as well as their ability to discontinue participation at any time without providing a justification.Each parent provided an informal verbal consent before starting the data collection.The researchers assured participants that their involvement in the research was completely voluntarily, and the information gathered is kept private.

Pilot Study:
To guarantee the stability of the replies, a pilot study using ten percent of the research sample ( 22) was conducted and subsequently removed from the sample.It was carried out to evaluate the tool's readability.Before putting preventative measures into practice, a baseline evaluation using a checklist was conducted and completed by all participating parents to determine their requirements.It also helped to project how long the tool would take to complete (20: 25 minutes).

Field Work:
The data collection period spanned a total of 2months, commencing in January 2024, and concluding in February 2024.During this time frame, the researchers were present at the study setting 4 days a week.Their availability was from 9 o'clock in the morning to 1 o'clock in the afternoon.The researchers conducted the pre assessments of negative effects of digital overdependence among preschool children and implementing related parental preventive strategies.These assessments were carried out in various phases throughout the data collection period.

Assessment phase:
The process started by meeting with the mothers.At the start of the interview, the researchers introduced themselves and discussed the purpose, nature, and content of the study educational guidelines.They highlighted that the goal was to determine Effect of implementing parental strategies on preventing digital overdependence among their preschool children.Completing the questionnaire took from 20-30 minutes per parent.

Implementation phase:
After getting their permission and cell phone numbers, the researcher chose participant parents from the chosen nurseries.Pre-tests were obtained on the first appointment in order to establish baseline data.The researchers identified four days a week, in the morning or the afternoon, as the best times to drop off kids at daycare centers.The entire sample was divided into two equal groupsrural and urban-and a schedule of subjects and assigned groups was announced.Each group, at most, included eight or ten participant parents.A first assessment was performed by the researchers.Each group received an intervention for four weeks in a row, with four sessions per week, for a total of sixteen instructional sessions including the final interview, lasting two hours each.The interventions were given to all participant groups for a period of two months.Each session started with the researcher summarizing the one before it, getting their input, and then moving on to the next.The researchers considered applying simple and obvious language.Researchers provided health education about physiological and psychological symptoms of digital overdependence, definition, causes, and consequences of internet overdependence on preschool children and strategies of preventing overdependence.The instruction brochure was given to every research participant.A brochure that includes the program's content was written in Arabic and with pictures and diagrams to help parents comprehend it.The following preventive educational resources were made especially for the program: a flipchart, a brochure, an interactive lecture, questions and discussion, a film, and real-world examples.Each session concluded with a discussion of the questions raised by the parents to clear up any misconceptions.To ensure that the parents understood the program content, each session ended with a summary of the material that had been covered at the beginning in simple language that was understandable to all of parents.

Evaluation phase
Parents were evaluated pre-intervention to get a baseline assessment before development of the educational guidelines and the researchers re-administered the study questionnaires to assess the impact of educational strategies.Also, post intervention test was applied immediately after the implementation of the program.Statistical Analysis: -Information was coded.Version 22 of SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) was used for data entry and analysis.The quantitative data was represented by mean (X).The student t-test was used for analysis in order to compare the two means.On the other hand, percentages, numbers, and frequency distribution charts showed qualitative data.It was tested by chi-square (χ2) test.Chi-square test to measure difference between observed and expected data is due to chance or it is due to a relationship between the studying variables.However, in the event that any cell in the table had an expected value less than five the Likelihood Ratio (LR) test or the Fisher Exact test were applied, depending on whether the table included four or more cells.For every relevant test, the P value <0.05 was designated as the level of significance.Graphic was extracted using Excel software program.

Results:
Table 1 explains the socio-demographic criteria of pre-school children and their parents as.85.8 % of total sample divided into 26.2 % and 32.6 % of urban and rural residence aged 5 years old.46.4 divided as 13.8% and 14.8 % urban and rural residence ordered as the first birth order.Regarding parents' demographic characteristics, 57.3% of the total sample dived into 28.4% and 28.9% of urban and rural participant mothers aged 20-30 years old, also , 6.9 and 25.4 of father of urban and rural residence aged 20-30 years old revealing significant difference.Also, 57.3% of the total sample divided into 28.4 % and 28.9 % of the participant fathers stayed at urban and rural areas respectively spent more than 4 hours daily on their smart phones.Likewise, 70.7% of the total sample divided into 35.8% and 34.9 % of the participant mothers stayed at urban and rural areas respectively spent 3-4 hours daily on their smart phones.There is no significant difference.Table (2) explains the criteria of overdependence of digital devices among the participant pre-school children as 41.7% of the total sample divided into 21.1 %and 20.6 % of those at urban and rural areas respectively spent 3:4 hours per day on the internet.46.4% of the total sample divided into 24.8 % and 21.6 of children stayed at urban and rural areas respectively had 3 years of internet accessibility.There is no significant difference.51.8% of the total sample divided into 26.6 % and 25.2 % of children at urban and rural areas respectively had smart phone revealing significant difference.Figure 1 illustrates that 43 .1% and 42.7 % (85.8%) of the preschoolers had headache.
33.5 % and 43.1 % (76.6%) had blurred vision.33% and 31 % ( 64%)participant children had eye redness Also, 22 % and 31 % with total ( 53%)of the participant preschool children had disturbed food intake.Figure 2 demonstrates that, 72% of the total sample divided into 37 % and 35 % of the participant pre-school children of urban and rural areas respectively had lack of sleep periods.95 % of the total sample divided into 47 % and 48 % of the participant pre-school children of rural and urban areas were unable to wake up early after periods of staying on smartphones.28% of them divided into 15 % and 13 % respectively were unable to think logically.Figure 3 explains pre-school related causes as reported by parents as 80.3% of the total sample divided into 45 % and 35.3 % of them stayed at urban and rural areas respectively attributed their overdependence to connection with friends via internet.59.9% of the total sample divided into 38 .8% and 21.1 % of pre-school children stayed at urban and rural areas respectively had negative emotion to parents and 50% of the total sample divided into 28.9 % and 21.1 of participant children stayed at urban and rural areas respectively had cognitive dependence on smartphones Figure 4 explains the reported causes related to parents as 95.4% of the total sample divided into 47.7 % of both groups (urban and rural) attributed their digital overdependence to transmission to online learning after occurrence of covid 19.78.2% of the total sample divided into 42.7 % and 35.5 of the participant parents attributed their digital overdependence to accessibility of internet at home and 55% of the total sample divided into 28.4 and 26.6 % attributed the overdependence to mother addiction.4 explains preventive strategies of overdependence for parents of preschool children before and after implementation as 3.51±.18793 of the participant parent mean score replaced the electronic device use with other physical activities among their preschool children before implementation increased to 4.45±.43116after implementing related parental preventive strategies revealing significant difference.Moreover, 2.11 ±.24751 of the participant parent mean scores who made a list of things that must be done before device time among their preschool children before implantation increased to 5.06±.38545after implementing related parental preventive strategies revealing significant difference.Indeed, 3.53±.22822 of the participant parent mean score reduced device time gradually instead of stopping among their preschool children before implantation increased to 5.13±.34918after implementing related parental preventive strategies revealing significant difference.1.83±.24154 of the participant parent mean scores who set boundaries and a daily period when there is no device use as not to declared phone password especially in time of study work, eating and family meetings increased to 3.78±.35939after implementing related parental preventive strategies revealing significant difference.1.60±.23399 of the participant parent mean scores who participated in group activities and had fun with a group of friends increased to 4.23±.41096after implementing related parental preventive strategies revealing significant difference.Table 5 shows a statistically significant relationship regarding sociodemographic criteria of both participant pre-school children and their parents except in relation to residence, father job and income.38.5 % of participant pre-school children with moderate addiction were aged 4 years ago.28.4 % of participant pre-school children with moderate addiction ranked second birth order.20.6% of participants pre-school children with moderate addiction their mothers were aged 20-30 years old.Moreover, 14.7 % of Divorced parent had children with severe addiction.Also 14.7 % of participant parents who spent more than 4 hours using smart phone had pre-school children with severe addiction.
Table 6 reveals a statistically significant relationship between pre-school level of internet addiction and the years of internet accessibility as 14.2 % of preschool children with severe addiction had accessibility to internet from 2 years ago.Also, a statistically significant relationship between pre-school level of internet addiction and Multimedia applications as 14.7 % of preschool children with severe addiction watched videos.The present study also showed that, slightly more than half of the participant fathers spent more than 4 hours daily on smart phones.While more than two quarters of the participant mothers spent 3-4 hours daily on their smart phones.In the researchers' point of view in order to regulate the time that preschool children spend playing digital games, it is important that parents control their daily use of smart phone and supervise their children.
The present study result is consistent with Tang, (2021) they reasoned that since preschoolers frequently imitate their parents' daily routines, parents' own use patterns could also have an impact on how their kids use digital media.Even though there aren't much actual research on this relationship at the preschool age, it makes sense to presume that kids will probably start using media more frequently than their parents do.

In relation to the criteria of overdependence of digital devices among the pre-school children
Less than half of the total sample spent 3:4 hours per day on the internet.Less than half of them had 3 years of internet accessibility and slightly more than half divided into more than quarter of children at urban and rural areas had smart phone revealing significant difference between rural and urban children.

Distribution of reported causes of digital overdependence related to pre-school children
The present study revealed that, more than three quarters of the total sample attributed their overdependence to connection with friends via internet this could be explained by loss of parental control over their children behavior.The present study result is not consistent with Scott et al., (2023) who made the report, Young toddlers in preschool frequently call their screen time "play."As a result, the idea of "digital play" has emerged, which is defined broadly as children using digital devices in playful ways.It also refers specifically to the use of technological tools like tablets and smartphones for play and entertainment.Additionally, digital play is defined as a form of children's meaningmaking within digital contexts.This may have to do with the two studies' dissimilar cultures and environments.Indeed, more than half of the total sample attributed digital addiction to negative emotion to parents.This might be because those without stable attachment relationships to their parents may exhibit attachment reactions to easily accessible smart devices as a result of ongoing needs dissatisfaction.Overdependence is also increased when smart gadget use is not properly supervised.The current study result is consistent with Lee, &Kim (2022) who discovered that inconsistent response from parentsresponding to kid harshly at times and permissively at others-may lead to the development of a child's sense of insecurity, or insecure attachment, which may have repercussions that include addictive behaviors.People who have an insecure attachment are more likely to be emotionally unstable, respond inconsistently, and feel anxiety; as a result, they may get too attached to their smartphones as a way of making up for these shortcomings.Also, Jimeno, (2022) reported that, the association between preschoolers' problematic smartphone usage in their early years and inconsistent parental media mediation was reduced by mother-child conflict resolution strategies, such as psychological hostility and physical assault.Restrictive mediation, however, substantially predicted children's lesser propensity to use problematic smartphones, even though it did not interact with either positive or negative mother-child conflict resolution strategies to explain children's problematic smartphone usage.
In the same context, McDaniel & Radesky, (2020) said that a child's externalizing tendencies may also be the cause of their smartphone addiction.Few research, nonetheless, have looked empirically at the psychological variables (such as social disengagement and sadness) that are related to their addiction to smart devices.Parenting stress and styles have a significant role in children's addiction to smart devices when it comes to caregiver issues.Research has also revealed a considerable correlation between preschoolers' excessive reliance on smart gadgets and mothers' poor parenting practices (such as overprotection, permissibility, rejection

As regarding the reported causes related to parents:
The present study showed that majority of the parents attributed their digital overdependence to transmission to online learning after occurrence of covid 19.This might be related to application of E-learning in teaching strategies after covid 19.This result resembles with Hurwitz & Schmitt, (2020) who stated that there are both advantages and disadvantages to digital play for preschoolers' learning and development.
According to some research, educational games may help kids learn while also encouraging teamwork and problem-solving abilities.In contrast, Zhou et al., (2022) reported that, fourteen percent of parents, their preschoolaged children are spending more time online and thirty-three percent are playing with computers or cellphones more regularly as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.Time on its own, though, might not be a good indicator of children's problematic media usage.As with teenagers and adults, it becomes important to keep an eye out for behavioral changes as well, such as alterations in aggressiveness, impatience, or mood swings, which can be connected to a person's media consumption patterns and device-related experiences.2019) they said that, in order to limit preschoolers' overall screen time, smartphone use must be taken into account.First, for the ease of their charges, preschoolage caregivers need not to show their kids their iPhones.In order for kids to understand and respect the boundaries and follow them, parents who choose to give their kids cellphones must set clear, well-chosen, and constant boundaries.

In relation to mean differences of Preventive strategies of overdependence for parents of preschool Children before and after implementation
The current study revealed that the mean score of participants parent3.51±.18793replaced the electronic device use with other physical activities among their preschool children increased to (4.45±.43116),indeed, the parent mean score of (2.11 ±.24751) who made a list of things that must be done before device time among their preschool children increased to ( 5 The relationship between pre-school level of internet addiction and the socio demographic criteria of pre-school participant children and their parents there was a statistically significant relation regarding sociodemographic criteria of both participant pre-school children and their parents except in relation to residence, father job and income.The present study results are not in harmony with Al Mansoor, (2023) who found that there is no statistically significant relationship between problematic internet use scores and sociodemographic characteristics, except for female gender and fair grades in the last year (p < .05).This could be attributed to different sample and culture.The current study showed that 38.5 % of participant pre-school children with moderate addiction were aged 4 years ago and 28.4 % of them with moderate addiction ranked second birth order.In this respect Schwarzer et al., (2021) classified screen usage for more than one hour per day in preschoolers between the ages of two and five as screen overuse.Preschoolers who use smart gadgets excessively may suffer major consequences to their physical and mental well-being.Indeed, 14.7 % of divorced parent had children with severe addiction due to parental separation and the child experience of separation anxiety disorders so become attached with smart phone to compensate the attachment figure.Overusing digital gadgets may be a fun way to escape from reality, and individuals often use their phones excessively to make up for not having any meaningful interactions in their lives.The present result is supported by Anlı.(2020) who indicated that the average overdependence score of preschoolers with divorced parents is somewhat higher than that of preschoolers with married parents, although this difference is not statistically significant.Also, 14.7 % of participant parents who spent more than 4 hours using smart phone had preschool children with severe addiction due to learning behavior and modeling that preschool child acquire from their parents.In this respect, Lee et al., 2022) shown that children are likely to use cellphones excessively if parents do it to decompress from being parents.Due to their early developmental stage, preschoolers frequently emulate their parents' actions.Consequently, we need to concentrate on parental aspects in order to address the issue of preschoolers being addicted to smart devices.Indeed, Rai et al., (2022) reported that, numerous studies have demonstrated a favorable correlation between preschoolers' screen usage and that of their parents, and excessive smartphone use by parents may cause children to exhibit similar behaviors.

Regarding relationship between pre-school level of internet addiction and the overdependence
There was a statistically significant relation between pre-school level of internet addiction and the years of internet accessibility as 14.2 % of preschool children with severe addiction had accessibility to internet from 2 years ago.Also, significant relationship between preschool level of internet addiction and multimedia applications as 14.7 % of preschool children with severe addiction watched videos.This result is in agreement with Yang et al., (2022) who classified children between the ages of two and five who used screens for longer than an hour a day as having screen overuse and accessibility issues.Preschoolers who use smart gadgets excessively may suffer major consequences to their physical and mental well-being.Moreover, Hinkley & McCann, (2020) who study parents of preschool-aged children in six European nations were surveyed, it was discovered that the majority of them admitted that their kids enjoyed viewing videos and that they were generally unconcerned with how much time their kids spent watching; for instance, there were no established guidelines for the inclusion of instructional content.

The relation between pre-school level of internet addiction and the problematic technology use domains
Finally, the current study found a significant relationship between pre-school level of internet addiction and the problematic technology use domains except regarding effect on development.This could be explained as when level of internet addiction increases the problematic technology use consequently increase.This result is consistent with the result of Hussain & Starcevic, (2020) who stated that, when internet technology is utilized excessively or in harmful ways, it disrupts daily life.There are risk factors for problematic internet usage, including indications of mental illness.The present study result is supported by Khalil et al., (2022) they discovered that the intensity of online addiction was extremely substantially positively correlated with problematic technology use, internet gaming disorder grades, and problematic social media disorder grades.In the present study, it was found that, 41.7 % of pre-school children who had moderate addiction were severely use technology on continuous bases.Also, 20.6 % of them who had resistance to control their technology use, had moderate level of addiction.This might be explained as a result of parental denial about problematic technology use and children refusal to control using technology and experiencing euphoria while participating in internet activities Indeed, Kim et al., (2020) reported that, the number of research demonstrating the presence of problematic internet usage and gaming addiction has been sharply rising since the early 2000s, mostly as a result of people's ignorance about problematic technology use.Moreover, Black et al., (2020) added that, preschoolers who don't have parental supervision over how much time they spend online are more likely to spend more time online and playing games.The likelihood of developing an internet addiction increases with the amount of time spent online.

Conclusion
Based on the present study results, it was concluded that: 58.8 % of total sample divided into 26.2 % and 32.6 % of urban and rural residence respectively aged 5 years old, also 51.8% of the total sample divided into 26.6 % and 25.2 % of children at urban and rural areas respectively had smart phone revealing significant difference.80.3% of the total sample divided into 45 % and 35.3 % of them stayed at urban and rural areas respectively attributed their overdependence to connection with friends via internet.(4.28±.12393) of participant children mean scores who spent time alone with technological tools turned to (3.07±.00839) of their means after implementing related parental preventive strategies, (1.83±.24154) of the participant parent mean scores replaced the electronic device use with other physical activities among their preschool children before implementation increased to (4.45±.43116) of their means after implementing related parental preventive strategies revealing significant difference.There was a statistically significant relationship between pre-school level of internet addiction and the problematic technology use domains except regarding effect on development.-Parents should set a positive example for their children by spending more time with them and limiting their use of social media.

Figure ( 1 )
Figure (1) Physiological problems of preschool children as reported by participant parents at rural and urban residence: N= 218 divided equally 109 for each group (50 %)

Figure ( 4 )
Figure (4) Distribution of reported causes of digital overdependence related to parents (N=218, 109 for each location).
, and neglect) (Lee & Kim, 2022).The current study results revealed that half of children attributed overdependence to cognitive dependence on smartphones.This result is congruent to Park & Park (2021), preschoolers who use smart gadgets may have an addiction rate of one in five.Preschoolers are more likely to become addicted to smart technologies (such as smartphones and tablets) since their cognitive abilities are not as developed as those of adults.Moreover, numerous associated characteristics that are linked to problematic media usage have been discovered in studies on preschool-aged children's addiction tendencies (Dormof et al., 2020).These factors involved parental attitudes (Akaroğlu, 2022), mediation of parental (Budak & Işıkoğlu, 2023), smartphone dependency on cognition, mother-child relationships, and parental screen addiction (Li et al., 2022), they can all have a role in the development of these traits.

Problematic Technology Use Scale for Young Children. It adopted from konca et al., 2022. Its responses were 5 Likert responses including completely disagree, somewhat disagree, undecided, somewhat agree and completely agree. It consisted of 26 items divided as following clarification: Reliability of Problematic Technology Use Scale for Young Children:
Total reliability was = 0.963 verified by Cronbach Alpha by as showed in the table below for each item

Table 7
reveals a statistically significant relation between pre-school level of internet addiction and the problematic technology use domains except regarding effect on development as 41.7 % of pre-school children who had moderate addiction were severely use technology on continuous bases.Also, 20.6 % of participant pre-school children who had resistance to control their technology use, had moderate level of addiction.

Table ( 5) Relationship between pre-school level of internet addiction and the socio demographic criteria of pre-school participant children and their parents The socio demographic criteria
*Significant :

This result is not consistent with Bergman et al., (2022) & Şimşek et al., (2023) Turkey
-Extensive research and studies on the subject are needed to determine the true number of youngsters afflicted by internet addiction and to understand more about its detrimental impacts.-Large Large-scale research and studies on how to improve pre-school children development in relation to digital overdependence -Schools should host lectures for both parents and children to raise awareness of the risks and detrimental effects of internet addiction.-Encourage children to participate in activities, read books or stories at the library, and practice sports in the sports clubs.-Group play is essential for children's mental and physical development.-Parents ought to promote the positive applications of the internet, such as research and study, to their children.-Regulation of the child's internet usage through the establishment of usage guidelines.-Parents ought to designate a day without internet use.-Smart devices, including computers, tablets, phones, and other gadgets, cannot be used by children less than six years old.-Frequent check-ins with the school's psychologist and social workers to identify internet addiction cases early on.These instances are then sent to neuropsychiatrists for treatment, as early intervention yields great outcomes.-Adopting mass media campaigns is necessary to lower the likelihood of internet addiction.-For children who are hooked to the internet, it is best to gradually wean them off it and replace it with other mental and physical activities.