Daily Screen time allowance

The World Health Organisation (WHO) (2019) seem to to have slightly stricter guidelines but only offer advice up to the age of 4

• Under 2 years old - no screen time

• 2-3 years old - maximum 1 hour per day with less time preferred

• 3-4 years old - maximum 1 hour per day

The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) (2020) makes the following recommendations

Guidelines for Under 5

• Until 18 months of age limit screen use to video chatting along with an adult (for example, with a parent who is out of town).

• Between 18 and 24 months screen time should be limited to watching educational programming with a caregiver.

• For children 2-5, limit non-educational screen time to about 1 hour per weekday and 3 hours on the weekend days.

• Avoid using screens as pacifiers, babysitters, or to stop tantrums.

This is based on a wealth of research which shows human interaction is critical for infant development. Bedford et al., 2015, (in Brookes and Lasser, 2018) found that infants who have poor eye contact with parents in first year have a greater risk of psychological difficulties later in life. Increased screen time also displaces parent-baby interaction which is vital for bonding and healthy social and linguistic development.

This is interesting because there are a whole host of apps and websites out there that claim to benefit infant and toddler development but Courage and Selliff (2010) found very little evidence that infants learn from screens. If left on in the background it can distract them from important play and parent-child interaction. Even if the tv is watched together with a parent the quality of the interaction reduces. Studies in 2001 and 2013 showed that high quality educational tv such as Sesame Street could help children aged 3-5 learn literacy, numeracy and social skills but they also suggest sticking to the daily recommended screen time allowances (Anderson et al., 2001 and Christakis DA, Garrison MM, Herrenkohl T, et al. 2013, in Chassiakos et al., 2010).