SCREEN TIME
It's important to teach children how to balance their online and offline lives. Today's kids spend more time with screen media than on any activity except sleep — tweens (ages 8–12) average about 5½ hours a day, and teens (13–18) closer to 8½, not counting schoolwork. And who can blame them? The online world is engineered to capture and hold their attention.
Research consistently shows that young people look to the adults around them to learn how to manage their own digital lives, so the habits we model matter as much as the rules we set. A healthy balance between screens and everything else is a lifelong skill — one we can practice together.
References:
1. The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021. Common Sense Media.
2. Lenhart, A., et al., (2011). Teens, kindness and cruelty on social networks. Pew Internet & American Life Project, (2011).
WHY IS SCREEN TIME SO HARD TO MANAGE?
Because the apps weren't designed to be easy to put down. Autoplay, infinite scroll, and AI-driven recommendation feeds are all built to keep kids engaged as long as possible. Understanding how that technology works is half the battle — start with our Artificial Intelligence hub.
AAP Guidance
We recommend following the media-use guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In recent years the AAP has shifted its emphasis — away from counting hours and toward the quality of media, the context it's used in, and the conversations families have about it.
Birth to 2. For children younger than 18 months, avoid screen media other than video-chatting. For 18–24 months, if you introduce digital media, choose high-quality programming and watch it together to help your child make sense of what they're seeing.
Ages 2 to 5. Limit screen use to about one hour per day of high-quality programming, and co-view when you can.
Ages 6 and up. Instead of policing a strict number of hours, focus on what screens might be crowding out — sleep, physical activity, in-person time, and unstructured play. The AAP's current approach centers on the 5 C's of Media Use: Child, Content, Calm, Crowding Out, and Communication. The best way to put it into practice is a Family Media Plan you build together.
A few habits that help at every age:
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Set screen-free times (meals, the hour before bed) and screen-free places (bedrooms).
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Keep an ongoing, judgment-free conversation going about what your kids are seeing and doing online.
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Model the balance you want to see — your kids are watching.
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