# Screen Time: General Guidance

> Current general guidance on screens for babies and young children.

Stage: toddler - Topic: Everyday care - Page: https://www.askcladle.com/guides/toddler/screen-time-guidance

Grounded in: the AAP February 2026 policy statement "Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents" and the WHO 2019 guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5.

## TLDR

- Common guidance: no screens but video calls under 18 months, co-viewed quality shows from 18-24 months, about an hour a day at 2-5.
- The AAP's 2026 update centers a Family Media Plan: what's watched and what it crowds out matter as much as hours.
- Watch whether screens replace sleep, play or people, and model the habits you want.

## The principle

Commonly cited pediatric guidance (subject to updates as research continues) suggests no
screens other than video calls under 18 months; from 18-24 months, high-quality
programming only, watched together with an adult; about an hour a day of high-quality
programming for ages 2-5 with a co-viewing adult when possible, and consistent,
family-agreed limits with an emphasis on WHAT is watched and WHETHER it displaces
sleep/activity/social time for older children, rather than a single universal hour count.
The WHO advises no sedentary screen time at age 1 and no more than 1 hour a day at age 2.

## The February 2026 AAP update

In February 2026 the AAP published a policy statement, "Digital Ecosystems, Children, and
Adolescents," which replaces its prior guidance on media. Instead of hour counts alone, it
frames media use around a Family Media Plan and the "5 Cs": Child, Content, Calm, Crowding
out, and Communication. Treat the hour ranges above as rough benchmarks within that plan,
not as the rule itself. Building a Family Media Plan together is a good place to start.

## Why "screens are simply bad" or "screens are simply fine" both oversimplify

The research generally points to CONTENT QUALITY and CONTEXT (co-viewing, what it
displaces, passive vs. interactive use) mattering as much as or more than raw duration.
A blanket claim in either direction glosses over that nuance.

## What's worth attention regardless of exact limits

- Whether screen time is displacing sleep, physical activity, or in-person interaction.
- Content quality and age-appropriateness, not just duration.
- Modeling: a child's screen habits are strongly shaped by caregivers' own visible screen
  use.

## Nuance

Guidance in this area has changed over time and differs somewhat by professional body and
country; treat specific numeric limits as general guidance to adapt, not a fixed rule, and
note that recommendations may have been updated since this was written.