How and why parents take on the tube

A survey of 225 parents assesses patterns of television-related interaction, viewing habits and perceptions. Mediation is conceptually distinct from coviewing and has different motivations and implications when positive or negative in valence. A typology of mediation patterns includes nonmediators (parents who talk about television with their children infrequently), optimists (those whose discussion primarily reinforces television content), cynics (those whose discussion primarily counters television content) and selectives (those who use both positive and negative discussion strategies).