A Parent's Guide to Navigating Media & Screens

How to Use the 5 C's of Media Guidance: Tips for Parents

Parenting around media can feel overwhelming. Technology changes quickly, and many parents didn't grow up with today's social media and video platforms. Plus, unlike food or toys, technology isn't subject to safety testing for children.

To move beyond the simple "2-hour screen time rule" of the past, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health developed a new approach: the 5 C's of Media Guidance. This offers easy-to-remember tips based on research to support family relationships, social-emotional development, and mental health.

You can find specific 5 C's media use questions and tips tailored for different age groups here:

• Infants

• Toddlers and preschoolers

• School-age children

• Young teens

• Older teens

What are the 5 C's and how do they work?

The 5 C's of media use are based on the child, the content, ways to calm down, what media is crowding out, and ongoing communication.

1. CHILD

Because children are all different, they don't each have the same risks and benefits from media. We encourage parents to think:

• Who is your child, what is their personality? How does this influence what media they are attracted to, and how it affects them?

• Do they seek out wild content on video platforms, or does media help support a special artistic or musical talent?

• Is social media feeding their social anxiety, or do they have a supportive friend group online?

2. CONTENT

Research shows that content quality shapes whether kids have positive or negative relationships with media.

• Learn about what your kids play or watch.

• Help them think about which videos and games they use that have too much violence, rude role-modeling, unrealistic beauty standards, or commercialism. Although these things "trend," they influence emotions and behavior.

• To find good replacement videos and games, Common Sense Media is a great resource.

3. CALM

All kids need to learn strategies for how to manage strong emotions or fall asleep at night.

• Notice if media has become your child's main go-to strategy for calming down.

• If this is the case, talk to friends, pediatricians, therapists, or other supports for other, screen-free ways to help calm their brains and bodies down.

4. CROWDING OUT

Depending on how much media your family is using and what time of day, it might be crowding out other things your family cares about.

• Rather than just focusing on reducing screen time, help your family think about what they want to get back—such as family quality time, more sleep, going to the movies, playing with pets, or time outdoors.

• Help kids recognize that digital media has lots of "hooks" that keep us online longer than we intended.

• Create a daily plan outlining when and where media is used. (Tip: You can use the free tool to Make a Family Media Plan!)

5. COMMUNICATION

Talk about media early and often.

• This is one way kids build digital literacy, and it helps you identify when your child or teen is struggling.

• It's normal to find this a stressful topic, so take a deep breath, try to be open-minded, and ask genuine questions.

• This approach helps reduce guilt and increases your problem-solving mindsets.

*** Source: Kids & Screen Time: How to Use the 5 C's of Media Guidance (HealthyChildren.org)