Raising Healthy Kids in a Digital World Part 1: A Parent's Guide to Screen Time
by Dr. Kristina Olson-Kuyper, ND
As much as it pains me to say it, screens are part of childhood now. Kids use them for school, entertainment, gaming, creativity, and connecting with friends and family. The goal isn't to eliminate technology. It's to help children develop a healthy relationship with it.
As a family medicine physician and mom, I encourage parents to think about two separate questions: How much time is my child spending on screens, and what are they doing while they're there?
Both matter.
A helpful way to think about children's media use is the American Academy of Pediatrics' "5 C's" framework: consider the Child, the Content they're consuming, whether screens are being used primarily to Calm, what media may be Crowding Out, and how your family Communicates about technology.
Why Too Much Screen Time Can Be a Problem
One of the biggest concerns with excessive screen time isn't simply the screen itself - it's what screen time can replace.
Growing children need sleep, physical activity, outdoor time, creative play, reading, face-to-face conversation, and especially periods of boredom. When screens consistently crowd out these activities, children's physical and emotional health can suffer.
Excessive or problematic media use has been associated with disrupted sleep, reduced physical activity, attention difficulties, emotional distress, and interference with family and social interactions. Digital platforms can also be intentionally designed to keep users engaged through features such as autoplay, notifications, endless scrolling, and algorithmically recommended content.
Sleep deserves particular attention. Screen and social media use close to bedtime can interfere with sleep, and late-night access to phones can make it difficult for kids to disengage. A good family rule is to keep phones, tablets, and other personal devices out of bedrooms overnight and make the hour before bedtime screen-free whenever possible. Turning on nighttime Do Not Disturb settings can also reduce notifications and the temptation to check devices after bedtime.
How Much Screen Time Should Kids Have?
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has moved away from focusing exclusively on one magic number. Their current guidance emphasizes the child's age, the quality of the content, and whether media is displacing sleep, exercise, relationships, schoolwork, reading, and play.
Here is a practical starting point:
Babies younger than 18 months:
Avoid routine screen media other than video chatting with family and caregivers. Babies learn best through interaction with real people and their physical environment.18-24 months:
If you introduce digital media, choose high-quality programming and watch it together. Avoid making solo screen use a routine.Ages 2-5:
For families wanting a numerical target, less than one hour per day of recreational screen media can be a useful goal. Prioritize high-quality content and, whenever possible, watch or play together and talk about what your child is seeing.School-age children:
For families wanting a numerical target, approximately 1-2 hours per day of recreational media can be a reasonable starting point. Schoolwork doesn't count toward that total. More important than the exact number is whether screens are interfering with sleep, physical activity, school, family time, friendships, or other interests.Tweens and teens:
Continue setting boundaries, but increasingly focus on balance, content, safety, and developing healthy digital habits. A teenager spending an hour making music or FaceTiming a friend is having a very different digital experience from a teenager spending an hour endlessly scrolling short-form videos.
Ask not only, "How long have you been on your phone?" but also, "What are you doing there, and how does it make you feel?"
Content Matters Just as Much as Time
Parents should know what apps, games, websites, and social media platforms their children use.
Particular caution is warranted around content involving:
Requests for personal information or photographs
Misinformation presented as fact
Dangerous online challenges
Gambling-like features and excessive in-app purchases
Unrealistic beauty and body ideals
Strangers contacting children privately
Disordered eating and extreme dieting
Cyberbullying, hate speech, or harassment
Self-harm or suicide
Pornography and sexually explicit material
Graphic violence
For younger children, parental controls, restricted accounts, content filters, and limits on downloads and purchases are appropriate. As children mature, monitoring can gradually shift toward conversation, coaching, and increasing independence.
The American Psychological Association recommends continued adult monitoring of social media for most children in early adolescence, generally ages 10-14, while gradually increasing privacy and autonomy as children develop maturity and digital literacy.
A Simple Family Digital Plan
You don't need a complicated system. A few predictable household rules can make an enormous difference.
Consider:
Keep family meals screen-free. My family has a spot away from the table that all phones go when we sit down to eat.
Keep phones and tablets out of children's bedrooms overnight.
Make the hour before bedtime screen-free.
Turn on nighttime Do Not Disturb settings.
Turn off autoplay and unnecessary notifications.
Don't let recreational screens routinely replace sleep, exercise, homework, reading, outdoor time, or family activities.
Know what apps and games your children use.
Use parental controls and age-appropriate content settings.
Periodically review privacy settings and who can contact your child.
Talk openly about algorithms, influencers, advertising, misinformation, pornography, and online strangers.
Delay unrestricted social media access.
Create an environment where kids can report something uncomfortable without automatically losing their device.
And perhaps the hardest rule of all: model the behavior you want your children to develop.
Kids notice when we're checking our phones during dinner, answering emails while they're talking to us, or scrolling while telling them they've had enough screen time.
Look at the Whole Child
When parents ask me, "How much screen time is too much?" I encourage them to look beyond the clock.
Ask yourself:
Is my child sleeping well?
Are they physically active?
Are they keeping up with school?
Do they have meaningful relationships?
Do they still enjoy activities that don't involve a screen?
Can they put a device down without becoming extremely distressed?
Does their online life generally leave them feeling connected and interested, or anxious, angry, inadequate, or isolated?
If screens are consistently replacing sleep, movement, relationships, school, creativity, or emotional well-being - or your child seems unable to control their use despite negative consequences - it's worth taking a closer look.
Our goal doesn't need to be raising children without technology. That's neither realistic nor necessary.
The goal is raising children who eventually know how to use technology without allowing technology to control their attention, relationships, sleep, or sense of self.
And that starts with boundaries, conversation, connection, and parents staying involved in their children's digital lives.
In Part 2, we'll explore practical ways to help keep children safe online, including parental controls, first-phone expectations, and what to do when something uncomfortable happens.
If you have additional questions about how to best raise your child in our ever-evolving world, I invite you to schedule a visit with me.
See you in clinic,
Dr. Kristina
You can read Dr. Kristina’s full bio here.
Resources and References
American Academy of Pediatrics. Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Policy Statement. Pediatrics. 2026.
American Academy of Pediatrics. Helping Kids Thrive in a Digital World: AAP Policy Explained. HealthyChildren.org. 2026.
American Academy of Pediatrics. How to Make a Family Media Plan. HealthyChildren.org.
American Academy of Pediatrics. Kids & Screen Time: How to Use the 5 C's of Media Guidance. HealthyChildren.org.
American Psychological Association. Health Advisory on Social Media Use in Adolescence.
American Psychological Association. Potential Risks of Content, Features, and Functions: The Science of How Social Media Affects Youth.
Common Sense Media. How to Block Pornography on Your Child's Devices. Updated July 30, 2024.