Parents of Under-Fives to be Offered Guidance on Excessive Screen Time of Toddlers

UK government offers parents of children under five to follow guidance on excessive screen time, as research finds children aged two has the highest screen time.

In England, parents of children under five are supposed to be offered government guidance on how much time their kids should spend on TV or computer screens. As it gets ready to provide advice for parents on how to control screen time in children under five for the first time, the UK government has cautioned that excessive screen time is harming toddlers' ability to talk.

According to research, two-year-olds who use screens the most, for roughly five hours a day are able to pronounce a lot fewer words than those who use them for around 44 minutes. The study also revealed that 98% of two-year-olds view screens every day, indicating that screen usage in early childhood is almost universal.

In April, the government will release its first guidelines on screen time for children under five. These guidelines will include suggestions on how to incorporate screen time into activities like reading, playing, and conversing with kids.

In a statement, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson agreed that screens are part of family life now and the question parents are asking isn't whether to use them, but how to use them well. He said parents and teachers had warned that too much passive screen time can start to diminish the talking, playing and reading that are so important for children’s language and development in the early years.

According to a government-commissioned study, 98% of two-year-olds spent an average of 127 minutes a day watching TV, movies, or other digital entertainment on a screen. This amount was 29 minutes per day on average at nine months of age.

Additionally, the research discovered that 19% of two-year-olds play video games, and they spent an average of 140 minutes a day either viewing screens or playing video games. Higher screen time was shown to be independently linked to worse vocabulary development; children with the most screen time were able to pronounce 53% of the 34 test words on average, whereas those with the lowest screen time could speak 65%.

The announcement comes after the Conservatives declare they would ban under-16s from using social media platforms if they win power, following in the footsteps of Australia, which became the first country to implement the legislation last month.