How much TV a toddler should watch

Current national and international guidelines recommend that children under 2 years don’t have screen time other than video-chatting.

Very young children learn best from everyday experiences like physical play, playing outside, reading, creative play and social time with family and friends.

Video-chatting is OK because your child is interacting with another person. Video-chatting can support your child’s social and language development. It can also help to create bonds with family and friends.

Role-modelling healthy habits for screen time and digital technology use

Developing healthy habits for screen time and digital technology use is important for children.

Even if your baby or toddler isn’t using digital technology, your baby sees how you use it and learns from you. You can help your child develop healthy habits by using digital technology in the way you want your child to use it in the future.

Even when your child is very young, you can start modelling healthy digital technology use. For example:

• Switch your phone off during meals.
• Turn the TV off when you’ve finished watching a program.
• Balance your screen time with activities like being outdoors, reading and doing physical activity.
• Give your child your full attention and avoid checking your phone when you’re playing together or feeding your child.

Exposure to screens and digital technology

Your family is likely to have a range of digital technology like televisions, computers, tablets and smartphones. This means that your baby or toddler might see images on screens, even if they’re not using the screens themselves.

It’s good to be aware of what your child might be seeing. For example, images on the news or in video games can be violent and distressing, even for very young children who might not fully understand what they’re seeing.

It’s best to avoid screens in the background altogether, because they can distract babies and toddlers. Babies and toddlers might stop playing or interacting with family and focus on the screens instead.

With so many shows targeted to very young children, it might not seem like a big deal to let your toddler watch an episode or two of a favorite cartoon. But your child is growing up in a media-saturated world, and now is the time to start teaching her healthy habits for managing screen use.

A little TV or other screen time is fine as long as she's watching age-appropriate, high-quality shows along with an adult. But too much or inappropriate TV can interfere with healthy mental and physical development and lead to long-lasting problems. Below are tips for managing your toddler's viewing time.

Limit TV or screen time. Most parents say their children watch two or more hours of TV a day, despite a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that kids ages 2 to 5 spend no more than an hour a day with screens of any kind – TV, tablet, phone, or computer. (The AAP recommends no screens at all for children younger than 18 months.)

To keep your child's brain from going on autopilot as he watches, break up viewing into 10- to 15-minute increments. Keep screens out of the bedroom and turned off during meals.

Set the rules right away. Setting up rules from day one makes it easier to keep viewing time under control as your child grows older. It's a lot easier to relax your standards later than to wean an 18-month-old from a habit of watching whenever he likes.

Make watching a privilege. Don't let screen time become an expectation. This is counterintuitive, but it's surprisingly effective. You may have a number in your head, but if your child knows what it is, he might view it as the amount he "should" be watching.

Make screens inconvenient. Consider keeping the TV and other screens in a small, out-of-the-way room in the house or in a cabinet that remains closed when it's off. Turn off the TV when no one is watching: Background shows are distracting, and they reduce interaction between parents and young children.

Choose high-quality shows for children

Stick with simple programming. Slow-paced programs give small children time to think and absorb. Choose straightforward, age-appropriate shows that emphasize interactivity. Ideal shows inspire your child to makes sounds, say words, sing, and dance.

Lots of random activity (like the kind in action/adventure cartoons) confuses children, and scary shows are too intense. And some research suggests that kids who watch violence on TV are more likely to display aggressive behavior.

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Watch specific shows. Rather than allowing your child to watch whatever happens to be on, carefully select shows. Check reviews from trusted sources like Common Sense Media, and preview shows before watching with your toddler.

When the show is over, turn off the screen. A two-minute warning with a 10-second countdown that screen time is about to end will help your toddler transition to the next activity.

Be a guide and role model for children

Watch with your child. Try not to use videos or television as a babysitter. Research shows kids do better if an adult is around to reinforce learning. That aside, just being there says to your child, "What you do is important to me."

Help your child watch critically. Even young children can learn to watch without "tuning out." If you're watching television with commercials, talk about what's going on in the show and in the ads, and explain the difference between the two. Encourage your child to ask questions and relate what's happening in the show to her own life. If you're watching a video or recorded show, pause the show to discuss what's going on.

Connect the show to the real world. By joining your child during screen time, you can help her make connections between what she viewed and the real world around her. If you and your toddler have just finished watching a Sesame Street segment that introduces a number, talk about the number and find examples of it to show her. When you're setting the table, for example, you might say, "Hey, today's number was three, and there are three places to set!" Then read and discuss a book that explores numbers.

If your child loves a show about wildlife, you can go to the library together to choose books about animals. Or if characters in a favorite show bake a cake or make an art project, you and your child can try doing a similar activity.

Be a role model. Children are most affected by the example parents set, so don't channel surf or keep the TV on as background noise. If your child sees you eagerly sitting down every so often to watch a specific show and concentrate on what you're seeing, she'll recognize the potential for enjoyment that movies and other shows actually promise.

Make a family media plan. In addition to thinking about your child's time with screens, consider when and how other people in your household use screens. Talk with your partner about ground rules for TV and other screens, and commit to a plan. You can make a personalized plan with the AAP's free family media plan tool.

Learn more:

• Is screen time bad for babies and toddlers?
• Parents say: How do you limit screen time at home?
• What one pediatrician wishes you knew about play

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