Tips for healthy screen use
Screen-Free Week is May 3–9. Find tips from AboutKidsHealth to help your child set healthy screen time limits and stay safe online, and learn how screen time affects your child’s health and well-being.
Screen time includes time spent watching television, browsing the internet, using a cell phone and playing video games. Screen time can be positive, as this technology can support your child’s learning, allow them to learn new skills online (e.g., languages, dance routines, crafts), and keep them connected with important people in their lives who may be far away or unable to visit in person due to COVID-19. However, without suitable limits, screen time can become addictive. It is important to limit screen time to support your child’s physical and mental health.
It is very easy to become overstimulated by technology and forget about other fun and healthy activities. As a result, screen time has been linked to lower levels of physical fitness and problems with mental health and social development. Children and teens who watch more than two hours of TV a day have shown lower scores of self-esteem and self-worth. Screen time is also often associated with unhealthy eating habits.
If your child's screen time falls outside the recommended limits for their age, you may notice some concerning signs. They may seem lonely, sad, stressed or fearful, aggressive or angry.
Children and families have become more reliant on screens for online learning, entertainment and social interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic
To learn more about the effects of screen time on health and well-being and the recommended daily limits for children and teens of different ages, please see, Screen time: Overview.
How can you limit your child’s screen time?
Children and families have become more reliant on screens for online learning, entertainment and social interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Screens have been a powerful platform to cope with disruptions to everyday life caused by the pandemic. For this reason, total elimination of screen use would be very challenging. Instead, look for new ways to reduce the harms associated with screen use without giving up screen time completely and do your best to limit excessive screen use. Here are some ways you can create a supportive environment to help reduce your child’s screen time and build healthy screen-time habits:
- Choose an hour or two during the day for a “screen free” activity, such as cooking dinner with your child, playing a board game or spending time outside.
- Make it easy for your child to choose snacks such as vegetables, fruit or yogurt if they like to eat while enjoying screen time.
- Keep TVs, computers and cell phones out of bedrooms.
For more tips for managing your child’s screen time and helping them stay safe online, please see, How to help your child set healthy screen time limits.
For information to help your family navigate screen use during the COVID-19 pandemic, please see, Supporting healthy and responsible screen use in children during COVID-19.
AboutKidsHealth is SickKids’ health-education website and features more than 3,500 articles on a range of health topics. For more information on screen use and other health topics, visit www.aboutkidshealth.ca.
