


They now recommend that children younger than 18 months “avoid digital media use (except video-chatting),” but kids 18 months and older can use digital media. They also say that children 2 to 5 years should limit their time to one hour a day and for youth 5 years and older they now don't really have a recommended cap on screen time.
This is a big change from their last set of recommendations back In 2013 that urged parents not to let kids under 2-years old engage with screens at all. Children 2 years and older (all the way up to age 18) were advised to limit exposure to two hours a day.
I am concerned about some of the age guidelines in these newly revised recommendations:
I am happy that the guidelines specifically encourage families to regularly talk to their kids about the many issues around screen time. This is exactly the point of our Tech Talk Tuesday (TTT).
Photo by NI QIN/iStock / Getty Images
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Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
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Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast

Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Register your interest in bringing our new movie to your school or community
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They now recommend that children younger than 18 months “avoid digital media use (except video-chatting),” but kids 18 months and older can use digital media. They also say that children 2 to 5 years should limit their time to one hour a day and for youth 5 years and older they now don't really have a recommended cap on screen time.
This is a big change from their last set of recommendations back In 2013 that urged parents not to let kids under 2-years old engage with screens at all. Children 2 years and older (all the way up to age 18) were advised to limit exposure to two hours a day.
I am concerned about some of the age guidelines in these newly revised recommendations:
I am happy that the guidelines specifically encourage families to regularly talk to their kids about the many issues around screen time. This is exactly the point of our Tech Talk Tuesday (TTT).
Photo by NI QIN/iStock / Getty Images
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They now recommend that children younger than 18 months “avoid digital media use (except video-chatting),” but kids 18 months and older can use digital media. They also say that children 2 to 5 years should limit their time to one hour a day and for youth 5 years and older they now don't really have a recommended cap on screen time.
This is a big change from their last set of recommendations back In 2013 that urged parents not to let kids under 2-years old engage with screens at all. Children 2 years and older (all the way up to age 18) were advised to limit exposure to two hours a day.
I am concerned about some of the age guidelines in these newly revised recommendations:
I am happy that the guidelines specifically encourage families to regularly talk to their kids about the many issues around screen time. This is exactly the point of our Tech Talk Tuesday (TTT).
Photo by NI QIN/iStock / Getty Images

I've been noticing the ways I can be rude, in person and on my phone. This week I share two recent examples of my own, plus why correcting myself out loud strengthens self-awareness. The talk that follows isn't about your kid. It's about you going first.
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An Oakland library has started lending out sports equipment and games alongside books, so families can borrow gear to use at nearby parks. It is a reminder that borrowing and lending between families is a simple way to fill a summer afternoon without a screen, while quietly modelling generosity and humility. We are out of practice at asking, but the person on the other end is usually glad to help.
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E-readers are convenient, but there are three reasons to lean toward paper books this summer. First, e-readers are screens, and the pull of everything else you could do on one makes it harder to stay immersed. Second, a large meta-analysis found people understand and remember slightly better on paper, especially with longer texts. Third, easy access to endless book samples makes it too tempting to jump ship rather than work through the slower parts, since reading, unlike TikTok, is about delayed gratification.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
