Objective: This study aimed to conduct an in-depth investigation of mothers’ of 3rd grade elementary school children experience in terms of children’s daily use of smart devices after COVID-19 and explore their meaning.
Methods: Based on daily photos of their children related to smart devices taken by the mothers, interviews were conducted with seven mothers of children who entered 3rd grade in elementary school in 2020, the first year of online admission owing to COVID-19.
Results: First, as a ‘the mother who became a embrace’ she adjusted her time for caring for children according to the daily use of smart devices, worked with her child to support online learning, and struggled to protect children from the harmful effects of smart devices. Second, as a “mother who becomes a fence”, mothers performed the role of a someone who encourages and considers children while engaging in mentalization and practicing Winnicott’s living together as a mutually subejective and adjustable relathionship in smart device daliy life.
Conclusions: In a parenting environment where the daily use of smart devices after COVID-19, mothers did their best to care for children in their own way and in terms of the ethics of hospitality.