What is the recommended screen time for children?

• Children aged less that 1: Screen time is not recommended.
• Children aged 1 – 2 years: For children aged 1, sedentary screen time (e.g. watching TV, playing computer games) is not recommended. For children aged 2 years, sedentary screen time should be no more than 1 hour; less is better.
• Children aged 2-5 years: Children in this range should have no more than one hour of sedentary screen time per day.

• Children aged less than 1: Should have 14 – 17 hours (0–3 months of age) or 12 – 16 hours (4–11 months of age) of good quality sleep, including naps.
• Children aged 1 - 2 years: Should have 11 - 14 hours of good quality sleep, including naps, with regular sleep and wake-up times. 
• Children aged 3 - 4 years: Should have 10 – 13 hours of good quality sleep, which may include a nap, with regular sleep and wake-up times. 

• Reduced sleep: When children spend long periods of time in front of a screen, they tend to sleep later at night which can result in losing out on a good night’s sleep.
• Weight control difficulties: There is link between long hours of sedentary activities and weight issues as children grow up.
• Difficulty socialising: Children learn social behaviour and develop emotional intelligence through play and interaction. When children spend more time on their screens instead of interacting with others in real life, they can find it difficult to connect with the real world.
• Delayed learning ability: An excessive amount of screen time can delay the rate at which toddlers engage in cognitive processing. Toddlers must utilise their five senses in order to learn about the world around – screen time only focuses on two senses (sight and sound). This limits their ability to focus and process information.
• An ongoing study from the National Institutes of Health testing how screen time affects children’s brains showed that children who have more than two hours of screen time a day achieved lower scores on tests focused on thinking and language skills.
• Impatience: When screen time is purely used as a distraction, it can result in children becoming over-stimulated, unable to cope with boredom and developing shorter attention spans. Boredom encourages imagination (as children find creative ways to entertain themselves).
• Eyesight problems: Excessive screen time can result in eye strain and poorer vision as children grow up such as myopia.
• Screen Dependency Disorder: Children may develop addictive behaviour towards technology and experience symptoms such as headaches, poor nutrition and self-isolation as well as lack of impulse control.

• Lead by example: Children are very observant; if you regularly using your mobile phone or watch television, they will want to copy this behaviour. Try to mirror your technology use with their designated screen time – this is also a great opportunity to use technology interactively with them.
• Avoid screen time before bed: It can be tempting to let your little one watch their favourite cartoon before bed but this can result in disruption to sleep patterns. Setting specific times for screen time earlier in the day can help develop a healthy routine around technology.
• Replacing restrained or sedentary time with physical activity for children: There are numerous ways to provide children with opportunities to be active, from walking or riding a bike to school instead of taking the car, to participating in activities such as dance, swimming, jump rope or running.