The World Health Organization says screen time is not recommended for infants under 1 year, and for 1-year-olds it should not be used; at age 2, sedentary screen time should be no more than one hour a day, with less being better. For children ages 3 to 4, WHO again recommends no more than one hour a day. The AAP’s longstanding guidance is slightly broader in tone but similar in spirit: avoid digital media other than video chatting for children younger than 18 to 24 months, and for the youngest toddlers, use high-quality content together rather than handing over a device and walking away.
Once children get older, the conversation should move beyond counting minutes. The AAP says families should judge screen use by the quality of the interaction, not only the quantity of time. Its updated guidance emphasizes the “5 Cs” approach: child, content, calm, crowding out and communication. That is a useful lens because the same device can be educational, social or numbing, depending on how it is used. A thoughtful video lesson with a parent beside a child is not the same thing as endless autoplay clips.
A simple way to ask the right question is this: Does this screen time add something useful, or is it just filling a gap? If it is only filling a gap, it may be time to change the routine.
