The World Health Organization has issued its first-ever guidance for how much screen time children under 5 should get: maximum one hour per day of quality programing and the less time the better, and none at all for those under one.
The younger your child is the more screen time might be harming them, says the World Health Organization. Devices are part of our everyday lives. But it’s important to a child’s healthy development that screens not become integral too soon. To be healthy, children under 5 years old should be spending less time staring at screens and more time playing. No more than one hour of screen time. Too much screen time coupled with sedentary behavior in children under 5 can lead to inadequate sleep and low activity levels.
Improving physical activity, reducing sedentary time and ensuring quality sleep in young children will improve their physical, mental health and wellbeing, and help prevent childhood obesity and associated diseases later in life. Here are WHO’s recommendations on screen time:
- For Infants under 1, no screen time at all. Infants should be active several times a day through floor-based play. If the baby isn’t mobile, they should have at least 30 minutes of “tummy time” throughout the day. Infants shouldn’t be restrained for more than one hour at a time in strollers, high chairs or strap-on carriers. Infants less than 1 year should spend at least half an hour every day on their stomachs and that older kids should get at least three hours of physical activity every day.
- Screen time isn’t recommended at all for 1-year-olds, and WHO suggests less than an hour a day of quality programing for 2-year-olds. Children 1 to 2 years old should have about three hours of physical activity throughout the day and not be restrained for more than one hour at a time.
- 3 to 4-year-olds shouldn’t go over one hour of screen time of high-quality programming. Kids this age should participate in about three hours of physical activity per day.
The guidelines are somewhat similar to advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics. That group recommends children younger than 18 months should avoid screens other than video chats. It says parents of young children under two should choose “high-quality programming” with educational value that can be watched with a parent to help kids understand what they’re seeing. Family guidelines should focus on:
- How often children have access to screens (ideally have screen-free days).
- How long children can use them for (splitting the time between different types of screen and using a limiting device such as a stop watch or screen lock as a control measure).
- What children can view (the quality of what your child is viewing is more important than the time spent).
Like all parenting decisions, it is important to focus on modeling the preferred behavior to your children and involving older children in the decision-making process. Monitor what they are accessing and use the opportunity to start conversations and learning, making sure that screens are used in family/shared areas, and not in bedrooms. WHO did not specifically detail the potential harm caused by too much screen time, but said the guidelines — which also included recommendations for physical activity and sleep — were needed to address the increasing amount of sedentary behavior in the general population. It noted that physical inactivity is a leading risk factor for death and a contributor to the rise in obesity.
Have you ever seen a 3 year old with an ipad? It’s terrifying. They are great at the iPad, but they really suck socially