For babies and toddlers, the less screen time the better, and under the age of two, none at all is the latest advice. For two- to five-year-olds, both the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics suggest no more than about an hour a day. But the real issue isn't just the screen itself: passive watching is no replacement for the real-life exploration and interaction that develop a young child's curiosity, at a time when their brain is absorbing and learning at an incredible rate.
Key takeaways
- Under 2: no screen time is recommended, apart from the occasional video call with family.
- Ages 2 to 5: no more than around one hour a day, ideally good-quality content watched together.
- A 2023 study linked more screen time at 12 months with differences in brain activity and weaker thinking skills years later.
- Even "educational" apps can't teach a baby the way a living, responding person can.
- Real life is the richest programme there is: talk, point, name things and take them somewhere new.
Screens, and what I see far too often
It's worth saying this plainly. On buses and trains, many babies sit in strollers facing a blank wall while a parent scrolls on their phone for the whole journey.
In cafes, children sit in high chairs staring at whatever they can find to interest them until, under-stimulated, they start to demand attention from their carer, and are then commonly handed a cookie, a cuddly toy, or have a dummy thrust into their mouth just to keep them quiet.
None of these children are being neglected in the fullest sense. Their parents love them. But in each case a small, hungry brain, primed and ready to learn about everything around it, is being left to slowly idle, or quietened, at exactly the age when it's absorbing the most.
Mothers, I see you
And yes, mothers, I see you: you're exhausted, and you can't always be the constant source of input they want you to be. There are times when you simply need to chill out, whether it's some mindless scrolling or a cup of coffee and five minutes' peace. I get it, I've been there. You're probably sleep-deprived from dawn awakenings.
What does the baby brain need?
So let me be clear: this isn't about guilt over a single phone check, and it certainly isn't about being a perfect, endlessly entertaining parent. No such creature exists, and a baby bombarded with non-stop input doesn't benefit either. It's simply being aware of what the science is now telling us about what the baby brain actually needs. Not just more of the same stuff: the same toy, the same wooden building bricks, the same plastic ding-a-ling thing that plays a happy tune and not much else worth learning from.
Babies get bored, really bored, particularly when they are strapped into a stroller or a high chair with little to learn from but the same old toys and surroundings. (I explain why the baby brain is so hungry for new input in what is the best age to start teaching my child?)
But isn't a screen the easy answer?
This is exactly where a screen looks like the easy fix. A bored baby is quickly quietened by bright, moving pictures, and there is no shortage of apps, channels and programmes marketed as "educational", promising to teach your baby everything from first words to numbers.
The trouble is that, for a baby, most of it delivers far less than it promises. Even the better-designed "educational" content can't teach a baby the way a living, responding person can, and much of it isn't really teaching at all. Watched over and over, day after day, the same programme quickly stops being anything new to learn from and simply becomes entertainment: something to keep them quiet, not something to grow their mind.
Animated cartoons may offer some light entertainment, but in almost every case they do little to stimulate a brain hungry for the kind of information that builds connections and strengthens the neural pathways that support future learning.
What does the science say about screens and babies?
Research suggests that heavy screen exposure in babyhood is associated with weaker executive-function skills (working memory, mental flexibility and impulse control) as children grow older.
A 2023 study from Singapore's long-running GUSTO project, published in JAMA Pediatrics, looked at how much screen time babies had at twelve months of age. The more screen time they had, the more their patterns of brain activity at eighteen months differed when measured on an EEG, in ways linked to attention. Those brain differences were in turn associated with poorer executive-function skills when the children were tested at nine years of age (Law et al., 2023).
Findings like these fit with why the World Health Organization advises no screen time at all for children under two, and why the American Academy of Pediatrics says much the same for babies, leaving the occasional video call with grandma aside.
What do babies really need instead?
A young child's brain is built through real, back-and-forth exchange: your face, your voice, the feel of real and novel objects in their hands, the hundred tiny observations they make when someone is giving them input and attention. A flat, glowing rectangle can't give them any of that, however colourful it is. Every hour a baby spends parked in front of a screen is an hour of that irreplaceable, brain-building input they don't get back.
What to do instead of screen time
The alternative costs much less than screens and apps with colourful cartoons, and fits into the day you're already having.
- Bring the world to them, not a screen. On the bus, turn the stroller to face outwards and talk about what you can both see. In the cafe, let them watch the actual room (the people, the food, the smell of coffee, the comings and goings) and talk to them about it. Real life is the richest programme there is.
- Take them to places that are new and novel. Not just the local park or playgroup. Visit art galleries, a zoo, a farm, go strawberry or pumpkin picking and talk about how fruit grows, take a train ride and watch the views go whizzing by. The possibilities are endless, and you're likely to learn something new too.
- Talk to them like the little person they are. Narrate what you're doing, name things, ask questions even though they can't yet answer back; they will be taking it all in. This ordinary, upbeat narration is exactly how language and thinking are built. Sharing books works the same way, as I explain in how to help your child learn to read at home.
- But don't veer into total bombardment. Your baby doesn't need a non-stop tirade of information, just normal conversation, the kind you'd have with another grown-up who just happens to be a tiny tot hanging on your every word. Enjoy the moment, because in a flash they'll be a teenager and not listen to a word you say.
Frequently asked questions
How much screen time is OK once my child is older, say two or three?
The strictest advice is for the under-twos; after that a little is considered fine, but the watchword is still "less is better". Both the WHO and the AAP suggest keeping screen time to around an hour a day at most for two- to five-year-olds, ideally good-quality content that you watch together and talk about, rather than a screen handed over as a babysitter.
Can too much screen time cause speech or language delay?
It's certainly linked. Language is learned from live, back-and-forth conversation, so when screen time replaces the talking, naming and listening a child would otherwise get, their language can lag, and studies have connected heavy early screen use with a higher risk of delayed speech. A screen talks at a child; it never waits for them to answer, and that answering is exactly where language grows.
Does it matter if the TV is just on in the background?
More than you'd think. Even when a young child isn't really watching, background television pulls their attention away from play and, crucially, cuts down the number of words the adults around them say out loud, and fewer words means less language coming in. If the TV tends to be on out of habit rather than because someone is actually watching it, it's worth switching off.
Are "educational" apps and programmes good for babies?
Much less than they promise. A baby learns from a responsive person far more readily than from a screen, and the same programme watched again and again soon becomes entertainment rather than learning. For older preschoolers, choose high-quality content, keep it short, and watch and talk about it together.
My child is already used to a lot of screen time. Is it too late to change?
It's never too late, and you don't need a dramatic clampdown. Swap it gradually: trade a slice of screen time for something appealing, protect the moments that matter most (meals, the wind-down before bed, one-to-one time), and hold the line kindly and consistently. Children adapt far faster than you'd expect once the alternative is more inviting than the screen. For ideas, see is "learning through play" really enough?
Want the fuller picture?
My book Tomorrow's Child Starts Today looks at screen time, real-world play and early learning together, with practical, down-to-earth guidance that fits real family life. Read a free chapter extract.
Sources
- Law, E. C. et al. (2023). Associations between infant screen use, electroencephalography markers, and cognitive outcomes. JAMA Pediatrics.
- World Health Organization (2019). To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more.
About the author
Teri Farrari is a developmental psychologist, natural health practitioner and early years consultant with more than thirty years' experience with young children and their families. She founded and ran her own Holistic Early Learning Schools, and her work has featured on BBC News, Sky Television, The Sunday Times, the Daily Mail and in Parents magazine. Read more about Teri or work with her one-to-one.
