Under-fives should not be on screens for more than an hour a day, parents told
While the Prime Minister has promised that parents will not be left alone in the fight against screens, under new Government advice parents will be told to limit screen time for children under five to no more than one hour a day.
Apart from shared activities that encourage interaction, screen time should be avoided for children under the age of two and advice will be given to families.
The government is also considering Australian-style measures to limit or ban social media for under-16s.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised the new guidance would help families keep their children safe and encourage healthy habits with screens.
She said: “Parenting in a digital world can feel brutal.
“Screens are everywhere and advice is often contradictory.
“My government will not leave parents to face this battle alone.”
Sir Keir added: “There will be those who will object to us doing this.
“But whether it’s navigating technology, handling living expenses, or balancing the demands of family life, I will always stand with parents who are doing the best they can for their children.”
Guidance for parents on screen time for children aged two to five will advise them to “try to limit this time to an hour a day. Less is possible.”
Parents will be advised to avoid fast-paced social media-style videos, toys or tools that use artificial intelligence (AI) during screen time for children between the ages of 2 and 5.
Bedtimes and meal times should be screen-free; Families should be advised to try background music, board games, bedtime stories, and coloring instead.
The guide says that watching screens with children and talking about the content and asking questions is better for children’s cognitive development than letting them use them alone.
Parents will be notified that shared screen activities may include video calling with friends and family or looking at photos together.
The government has previously said that around 98% of children watch screens every day by the age of two, and those with the highest screen time are seeing an impact on their language.
The guidance was developed by a panel led by children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and child health expert Professor Russell Viner.
The panel’s review of the evidence found that long periods of time spent in front of screens affected activities that are important for good development, such as solitary sleep, physical activity, imaginative play and interaction with parents.
However, the panel stated that screen time limits should not be applied in the same way for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) who use screen-based assistive technologies.
Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said: “I know how difficult it is to navigate parenting in a world full of screens.
“These things are inevitable, but it often feels impossible to tell whether you’re getting the balance right.
“That’s why we give parents the clear, reliable support they want, so families can make informed choices and children can have the childhood they deserve.”
It is hoped that the recommendations on screen time will help children and families develop healthier relationships with screens and use them in a way that does not risk affecting their preparations for starting school.
Babies who spend the most screen time are significantly less likely to read regularly or take trips outside, the Education Policy Institute finds.
Prof Viner, professor of adolescent health at University College London, said: “Spending too much time alone can overshadow the things that make the biggest difference – sleep, play, physical activity and talking to parents and carers.”
The panel also recommended in its report that parents should consider their own screen use around their children and consider screen-free periods of the day for the whole family.
Dr Mike McKean, vice-president of policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, welcomed the guidance to help parents protect the “short but developmentally important early years”.
“The increased emphasis on online and digital spaces has made childhood an even more challenging time for parents to navigate,” he said.
“For many years, parents and professionals have had to play a dangerous game of catch-up, trying to find the right balance for their children.”
The government has set a target for 75% of children to be “school ready” by 2028; This means that children reach important developmental milestones in areas such as language and motor skills by the end of preschool education.
But early years charity Kindred Squared has warned that more and more children are coming to school without the basic skills needed to engage in learning.
More than half of teachers surveyed by Kindred said excessive screen time was a major factor in children not being ready for school, estimating that more than one in four children do things like try to tap or swipe at books as if they were a phone or tablet.
