Screen time is one of the top worries for parents. Our previous research also shows parents feel guilty about screens, even though they are all around us. At the same time, guidance on what parents should be doing is confusing .
According to the World Health Organisation, young children’s screen time should be limited to no more than one hour per day for two- to five-year-olds, while children under two shouldn’t be exposed to screens at all. But the UK Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has said it is “impossible to give comprehensive national guidance or limits” because the effect of screens depends so much on context and the evidence is uncertain. This made us wonder what else matters for children’s healthy development beyond “screen time”.
So we gathered all available evidence on the context in which children use screens. Our research In our new research, published in JAMA Pediatrics , we reviewed 100 studies on the influence of screen use contexts on the cognitive (brain), social and emotional development in children from birth to five years. The screens included TV, computer games, smartphones and tablets.
These studies, published between 1978 and 2023, involved more than 1,76,000 children and their families from 30 countries. This included the United States, United Kingdom, China, Canada, Japan and Australia. From this, we distilled four research-based ways parents can help their children use screens in healthy ways.
1. Make screen time together.