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Background & aim: The World Health Organization recommends no more than 60 minutes per day of screen media use for children aged 3 and 4 years. Considering that early screen exposure is multifactorial, this study aimed to evaluate the association between parental screen practices and children's screen time, accounting for sociodemographic characteristics in Brazilian preschoolers. Methods: The study included 1,382 participants (702 boys; 4.18 ± 0.54 years old) from the five Brazilian regions, of whom 1,325 provided valid screen-time exposure data. Caregivers completed a questionnaire in which they reported the child's average daily screen exposure time and their own screen-use behaviors in different situations. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted in Stata (version 19.0) to identify the factors associated with children's total screen exposure, with predictors entered in successive blocks: structural factors (geographic region, area of residence), individual and family factors (child age and sex, caregiver age and educational level), and, finally, caregivers' screen-use behaviors within the family context. Results: Mean daily screen exposure time was 120.5 ± 97.2 minutes. The adjusted hierarchical regression model explained 16.3% of the variance in screen exposure time. Geographic region (between -27.38 and -40.18 minutes/day, depending on the region, compared with the North region) and child age (+19.06 minutes/day per year) were significant associated factors; caregivers' screen use to entertain the child (+16.51 minutes/day per frequency level) and during meals (+6.66 minutes/day per frequency level) also showed a positive association with exposure time. Conclusion: Among the participants assessed, screen exposure exceeds the recommended time. Although geographic differences and child age are relevant factors, parental's screen practices, particularly device use for entertainment and during meals, are more strongly associated with the child's screen exposure time.