Screen time by age: what the guidelines say
By Adam Linmore · October 30, 2026
Most parents of young children have handed over a phone to get through a haircut, a phone call or dinner. That is not a verdict on anyone. This page puts the main screen-time guidelines in one place, in plain words, with what the research behind them can and cannot show.
The short answer
Under two: none, or as close to none as you can manage. Video calls with family are the exception many guidelines make, because a person on a call can answer.
Two to five: no more than an hour a day, and less is better. Slow, shared and at a set time, with none at meals or in the hour before bed.
School age: most guidance suggests a limit rather than a ban, such as two hours a day from six to eighteen.
The book behind this site asks for more than the guidelines do: no screens before six, as far as you can manage it, with video calls to family the exception. That is a precaution, not a guideline, and it is labeled as one.
The guidelines, one by one
World Health Organization (2019). Under one year, no screen time. At one year, none. From two to four, no more than an hour a day; less is better. It also asks for at least three hours of physical activity a day for ages one to four.
American Academy of Pediatrics (2016). Under eighteen months, none except video calls. From eighteen to twenty-four months, only high-quality programs, watched with a parent. From two to five, no more than an hour a day of high-quality programs, watched with a parent, with none at meals or in the hour before bed. Its 2026 statement, which replaced it, moves the emphasis away from counting minutes toward what the screen crowds out, such as sleep, movement and time with other people.
United States Surgeon General (2026). An advisory issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Suggested limits: none under eighteen months, less than an hour a day under six, two hours a day from six to eighteen, and delay screens as long as possible.
United Kingdom (March 2026). Under two, screens only as a shared moment with an adult. From two to five, no more than an hour a day, none at meals or in the hour before bed.
Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Under two, none. From two to four or five, no more than an hour a day.
France, Germany and China draw the line at three, and thirteen Spanish medical societies at six. The guidelines page lists them country by country.
What the guidelines say beyond the numbers
Video calls are the exception. In an experiment with two-year-olds, children learned new verbs from an adult on a live video call, who could see and answer them, and not from a recording of the same adult saying the same things. The screen was the same; the turn was the difference.
Watching together counts. Reviews that pool many studies find that watching with a caregiver goes with stronger language and learning, and that background television and solo viewing go with weaker outcomes. When a screen is on, sit with your child and talk about what you both see.
Meals and the hour before bed are protected. The American and British guidance agree on both. The hour before bed has the strongest evidence behind it: in a British trial, toddlers whose families removed screens in that hour slept a little better.
An hour is a ceiling, not a target. The guideline that sets the hour says, in the same sentence, that less is better. The studies do not find a safe dose below which nothing happens. They find a slope: more hours, more risk.
Why the guidelines focus on the early years
A baby learns language by taking turns with a person who answers, and a screen cannot answer. Children learn less from a screen than from the same thing shown by a person in the room, a gap researchers call the video deficit. It is about three times larger before age three than after. Large studies that followed children over time point the same way:
In Calgary, Canada, among 2,441 children, more screen time at two and three went with lower scores on a developmental screening questionnaire a year or two later. Lower scores did not predict more screen time later. The effects were small.
In Japan, among 7,097 children, more screen time at age one went with higher odds of delay in communication and problem solving at two and four, and the odds rose with the hours.
In Australia, whole-day audio recordings in family homes found that at three years, each minute of screen time went with about seven fewer adult words. At the study’s average of 172 minutes a day, that came to a projected 1,139 fewer adult words, 843 fewer child vocalizations and 194 fewer back-and-forth turns a day.
What this does not mean
These are associations, not proof that the screen made the difference; families with more screen time differ in many other ways, and the studies describe groups over months and years, not your child on one hard afternoon. The useful reading: back-and-forth time with a grown-up matters, and in these studies more screen time went with less of it.
How to use this in real life
Notice first. For a week, write down when a screen is on, counting the background television and the phone in the car.
Give screens a spot and a time. The rest of the house and the day are screen-free by default.
Have a swap ready. A basket of pots and spoons for dinner, a song for the car, a board book in the bag.
Make any screen time shared, slow and talked about.
Protect meals and the hour before bed, for the child and, if you can manage it, for you.
When to talk to your child’s doctor
If anything about your child’s talking, hearing, play, sleep or behavior worries you, or she has lost a word or a skill she used to have, talk with your child’s doctor now, not at the next checkup. Ask for a hearing test first. In the United States, if your child is under three, you can contact your state’s early-intervention program yourself, and the evaluation is free.
Common questions
Does background television count? Yes. In an American study that recorded whole days at home, each hour of audible television went with about 770 fewer adult words near the child. Background TV and toddler talk has more.
Are “educational” videos fine for babies? In a month-long experiment, babies who watched a best-selling baby video learned no more of its words than babies who never saw it.
We are far over an hour. Is it too late? No, and you are not alone: in a 2025 American survey, children under two averaged about an hour a day and children two to four just over two hours. Start with one moment of the day and one swap.
Is this about “virtual autism”? “Virtual autism” is not a medical diagnosis. These guidelines are for every child, and they are not about autism. If you are worried about your child, the steps are the same: turn the screens off and ask for an evaluation. Read what the phrase means.
Sources: World Health Organization 2019; American Academy of Pediatrics 2016 and 2026; Office of the U.S. Surgeon General 2026; United Kingdom Department of Health and Social Care 2026; Roseberry, Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff 2014; Madigan et al. 2020; Mallawaarachchi et al. 2024; Pickard et al. 2024; Strouse and Samson 2021; Madigan et al. 2019; Takahashi et al. 2023; Brushe et al. 2024; Christakis et al. 2009; DeLoache et al. 2010; Common Sense Media 2025. Full references are in chapters 4, 6, 15 and 23 and the Numbers at a Glance of Virtual Autism; the sources page lists the key studies behind this site.
Want the full picture? Virtual Autism sets out the research, its limits and a practical plan for home.
General information, not medical advice. If you are worried about your child, talk to your child’s doctor.