Background <p>Parental mediation (PM) refers to the communication strategies parents use to maximize opportunities and mitigate risks associated with children’s screen media use. Although the literature has long shown that PM can be associated with reduced problematic and risky media use in children, studies examining this phenomenon in the Italian context are still lacking. Objective: This study aims to develop and validate the Italian Parental Mediation Scale (I-PMS), a parent-report assessment tool specifically designed for the Italian context.</p> Method <p>A combined theory- and data-driven approach oriented the development of items. Five experts assessed the content validity of the scale. The study involved 497 Italian parents (85.5% women) of children aged 6–13. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed. Concurrent and convergent validity were examined through bivariate correlations, and the Mann-Whitney test assessed group differences.</p> Results <p>EFA and CFA revealed a four-factor structure (Rule-Setting Restrictive, Technical Restrictive, Parent-Initiated Enabling, and Child-Initiated Enabling Mediation), with a second-order factor named Parental Mediation. Overall, the I-PMS showed good psychometric properties. The I-PMS correlated with lower conflict, reduced problematic media use, and higher closeness. Parents were more likely to use rule-setting and technical restrictive mediation with younger children, while they preferred to use enabling mediation more with preadolescents.</p> Conclusion <p>The I-PMS proved to be a useful and reliable instrument that could be applied to early identify the strategies most associated with healthy and less risky screen media use in children and preadolescents, in clinical, educational, and family contexts.</p>