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
Hobbies offer benefits at every age, from helping children build a sense of self to giving retirees a renewed sense of purpose. The word traces back to the 1400s as a nickname for a small horse, later evolving into today's meaning of a pastime pursued for its own sake. Parents can spark interest by sharing their own hobby histories, building a family-history hobby list, and trying new activities together. Summer is an ideal time to lean into offline hobbies as an antidote to screen saturation.
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When kids break a rule, most parents default to handing down a consequence. But research on autonomy-supportive parenting shows that inviting kids to help decide the consequence leads to deeper learning, stronger accountability, and even kinder behavior toward others. Younger kids tend to overpunish themselves while teens often go easy, and both create natural openings for parents to guide the conversation. The goal isn't softer consequences. It's consequences that actually teach.
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Kids with ADHD benefit most when parents provide support at the exact moment behavior happens, a science-backed approach called "point of performance." Abruptly shifting from high-stimulation screen time to demanding tasks creates a "dopamine cliff," a brain chemistry drop that often shows up as resistance and conflict. Understanding both concepts helps parents smooth those transitions and build real skills and confidence in their kids over time.
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.
