Managing Screen Time: A Guide for Parents

Jul 29, 2024 / Healthy Living
By Asia Hulse, PhD / Summit, Willow Creek

In today’s digital age, managing screen time for children is one of the many challenges parents face daily. Understanding its impact on your child’s growing brain and setting reasonable limits are important steps toward ensuring healthy development. Read on for a detailed guide to help you navigate screen time effectively for your young children.

Understanding Screen Time Guidelines

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) offers guidelines to help parents navigate screen time:

What Counts as Screen Time?

It’s important to monitor and manage all forms of digital media use. Screen time includes activities on smartphones, tablets, computers, as well as playing video games and watching television.

Impact on Brain and Body

Children under 2 years old learn and develop best by exploring the physical world around them, not from screens. Their minds learn best when they interact face-to-face with parents, siblings, caregivers, and other people.

Screen time prior to age 2 is associated with more emotional reactions, aggression, defiance, and trouble with thinking skills like attention and impulse control. It may also affect learning and school performance. Exceeding the AAP screen-time recommendations in general has been shown to cause changes in the brain structures, such as the frontal lobe and white matter tracts, that support intelligence, attention, language, and literacy. Other effects include:

Developmental Delays: Children may experience delays in language development, motor skills, social skills, and cognitive abilities.
Behavioral Issues: Increased screen time has been linked to distractibility, impulsivity, and poor self-control.
Physical Health: Sedentary screen time is associated with a higher risk of obesity and poor physical health.
Mental Health: Excessive screen use has been linked to sleep problems, anxiety, and depression in adolescents.

Positive and Educational Use of Screens

Fortunately, not all screen time is negative or harmful! In fact, studies show that physically active screen time, such as those played on a Wii, can enhance physical health and connectivity with family and friends. Video-chatting with loved ones and support networks can have social benefits as well.

In moderation, educational media & TV shows (like Sesame Street) can be appropriate for children aged 3-5. At this age, their minds are mature enough to be able to learn new social, language, and reading skills.

Strategies for Managing Screen Time at Home

You can help your children develop healthy media use habits. What’s important is the quality of kids’ content, how your kids engage with it, and balancing their time with and without screens in ways that are healthy and support their development. Remember, all kids need enough sleep (8-12 hours depending on age) and at least 1 hour of physical activity each day.

Here are some strategies for approaching screen time use at home:

Use Parental Controls: Set up parental controls on devices to limit screen time hours and access to inappropriate content.
Establish Screen-Free Zones: Designate areas in the home where screens are not allowed, such as bedrooms and mealtime areas.
Lead by Example: Children learn from observing their parents. Model healthy screen habits by reducing your own screen time (avoid binge watching shows & having the TV on in the background) and engaging in alternative activities.
Set Clear Rules: Establish clear rules & expectations for screen time, including when and how screens can be used. Require participation in a healthier activity prior to use of screen time. Set goals for what your kids are watching & why.
Balance with Offline Activities: Engage in family activities that promote well-being like playing together, reading books, talking to each other, and being outside.
Create a Family Media Plan: The AAP has created an online tool to help your family balance media use with other healthy activities at HealthyChildren.org/MediaUsePlan

Additional Resources & Reading

To create a personalized approach to managing screen time for children that fits your family, explore the AAP’s Family Media Plan. Media plans should take into account each child’s age, health, personality, and developmental stage. Learn more about it here.

Use sites like Common Sense Media to help you decide if TV shows, movies, apps, and video games are age and content appropriate for your children and family values.

For deeper insights into the impact of screen time on children, consider reading Glow Kids by Nicholas Kardaras, PhD.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Domingues‐Montanari, S. (2017). Clinical and psychological effects of excessive screen time on children. Journal of paediatrics and child health, 53(4), 333-338.

Hutton, J. S., Dudley, J., Horowitz-Kraus, T., DeWitt, T., & Holland, S. K. (2020). Associations between screen-based media use and brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children. JAMA pediatrics, 174(1), e193869-e193869.

Muppalla, S. K., Vuppalapati, S., Pulliahgaru, A. R., & Sreenivasulu, H. (2023). Effects of excessive screen time on child development: an updated review and strategies for management. Cureus, 15(6).

Schmidt, M. E., Haines, J., O’brien, A., McDonald, J., Price, S., Sherry, B., & Taveras, E. M. (2012). Systematic review of effective strategies for reducing screen time among young children. Obesity, 20(7), 1338-1354.

Sweetser, P., Johnson, D., Ozdowska, A., & Wyeth, P. (2012). Active versus passive screen time for young children. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 37(4), 94-98.

Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. Preventive medicine reports, 12, 271-283.