Guidelines By Age

Infants (0–12 months)

The experts suggest limited exposure of babies to the screen media since such a child better learns through human contact and exploration of his/her surroundings. The infant's screen time will also decrease the contact time with a caregiver on the physical learning-related activities that support the initial stages of language acquisition. “Screen time deprives infants from learning and developing adaptive skills that can only be obtained through human interaction, and it does not allow them the creative freedom experienced during free play.” (Lammers et al., 2022, p. 2).

Toddlers (1–2 years)

Play and interaction in the real world is better for toddlers than screen media. In this instance, it is necessary to refer to high-quality learning content and use adults in case the technology is employed in order to help toddlers be aware of what they observe and bind it to real life. “Most of the kindergarten teachers (seven from eight) believe that children already spend a lot of time using digital devices at home so while they are at school or kindergarten, they should only play and learn in interaction with the environment, other children, and other adults.” (Gjelaj et al., 2020, p. 177).

Preschoolers (3–5 years)

When applied alongside adult supervision, the minimal exposure to screen time with developmentally sufficient digital devices may be helpful for learning in the case of preschoolers. Interactive applications, digital storybooks, and teaching games may be used to enhance some vocabulary, narrating, or even early reading. “Teachers log in to ensure that all children meet the minimum requirements, but their role has been minimized as they “supervise” the digital activities of 200 children a year.” (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2022).

Kindergartners (5–6 years)

Children in kindergarten are able to develop early reading and writing skills through technological applications in learning and online learning activities. However, the application of the technology should be additional to the other types of traditional literacy in practice, including reading a book, telling a story, and creative play. “Though research on the whole is inconclusive, e-learning activities are generally considered as effective as traditional EC activities, and the interaction between digital technologies and young children is generally regarded as an important factor of the effectiveness of e-learning in EC. ” (Liu et al., 2024, p. 2).

First, Second, and Third Graders (6–8 years)

Children aged older than 4 years can exploit the help of technology in reading, writing, and solving problems. The use of digital texts like e-books, storytelling, and learning games in moderation with the conventional learning experiences can assist in enhancing the idea of literacy development. Nevertheless, teachers point out that the use of technology must not substitute children's chance to study in the form of playing and interaction. “Most of the kindergarten teachers (seven from eight) believe that children already spend a lot of time using digital devices at home so while they are at school or kindergarten, they should only play and learn in interaction with the environment, other children, and other adults.” (Gjelaj et al., 2020, p. 177).