6 Big Screen-Time Myths That Need To Be Busted

What even counts as screen time, and where should parents focus their concern?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, essentially, no screen time for babies under 18 months of age. Specifically, they advise “minimizing or eliminating media exposure, other than video chatting” for this age group and setting “media limits” for older children. The World Health Organization likewise recommends no screens under age 2 and a one-hour limit from 2 to 5 years: “Sedentary screen time should be no more than 1 hour; less is better.”

At first glance, these guidelines make perfect sense. No baby needs to be checking their follower count on social media. But many parents soon discover that wanting to abide by these rules and being able to do so are two separate matters.

Screens are so integrated into our lives that it’s not always feasible to keep them out of a baby’s eyeshot. There are screens during sporting events that other members of the family want to watch, screens inside subway trains and on highway billboards, or grandparents on FaceTime. It seems ridiculous to demand that babies be removed from such situations.

Some anxious new parents take such guidelines to absurd extremes. There are parents who do move their baby into another room if a relative turns on the TV, and I once met a nanny at a playground who explained to me that her employers forbid her from using her phone near the toddler she cared for, lest its glow attract his eye.

The spirit of screen limits is to avoid using media to pacify children, depriving them of the human interaction they need for their development. Most parents support this ideal. But none of us can interact with a child for every minute of the day — and when the choice is between pacification and screaming, few of us will choose the screaming. Responding to our child’s cries is the core of our job description, after all.