Screen Time Recommendations for Children and Adults

Many parents, these days, find it difficult to schedule and divide their kids’ time in different activity domains. As a result, when kids grow up, they have trouble setting a limit to these activities. The most notorious to manage is the screen time which in turn affects the physical activity time and hence sleep in the longer run. Screen time does not only harm the physical health of children, it impacts their mental health too. If parents must work on overall health of their children, they first have to be aware of the right recommendations so that they can take the right decisions for their children.

According to WHO, failure to meet current physical activity recommendations is responsible for more than 5 million deaths globally each year across all age groups.  A staggering 23% of adult population and a mind-boggling 80% of adolescents are not sufficiently physically active. Besides, being sedentary is not the same as not getting enough physical activity. Even if one is doing enough physical activity, sitting for more than 7 to 10 hours a day impacts one’s health negatively. 

Let us start with a chart on screen time, sedentary time, physical activity time and sleep time recommendations per day for different age groups, as proposed by AAP and WHO.

Age group	Screen Time	Sedentary Time	Physical Activity Time	Sleep Time
Upto 18 months	No Screen time (Video chats with grandparents may be allowed for short intervals)	Upto 1 hour (Includes restraining in prams, trolleys, car-seats)	At least 30 min (Tummy time where the child lies on tummy and moves vigorously)	12 to 18 hours (Including daytime naps)
1.5 to 2 years	Less than 1 hour (Ideally little to no screen time is recommended)	Upto 1 hour (Includes restraining in prams, trolleys, car-seats)	At least 3 hours (Includes at least 1 hour of intense vigorous playtime)	11 to 14 hours (Including daytime naps)
2 to 5 years	Upto 1 hour (Prefer interactive educational videos, Avoid co-watching elders stuff)	Upto 1 hour (Including 1 hour of screen time; interactive storytelling or play activities are preferred)	At least 3 hours (Includes at least 1 hour of intense vigorous playtime)	10 to 13 hours (Including daytime naps; try for a fixed sleep and wake up time)
5 to 10 years	Upto 1.5 hours (better to divide throughout the day)	Upto 1.5 hours (Including 1 hour of screen time)	At least 1 hour of moderate to intense activity, more is better	9 to 12 hours (Including a daytime nap; try for a fixed sleep and wake up time)
10 to 18 years	Upto 2 hours	Limit sitting for extended periods	At least 1 hour of moderate to intense activity, more is better	8 to 10 hours (Including a daytime nap; try for a fixed sleep and wake up time)
Adults	Upto 2 hours	Break up long periods of sitting as much as possible	At least 30 min/day for minimum 5 days/week	6 to 8 hours (Avoid daytime naps)

Here are some general tips to keep in mind –

1. With little children, it is recommended to plan screen time in advance and not to use it as a calming or distracting tactic.
2. Interactive, high quality educational videos should be preferred. Try finding interactive toys and books to compliment these videos with their favourite characters and stories off screen.
3. Sticking to these recommendations is especially important in the first 5 years of life as it is the most crucial period for motor skills and brain development.
4. As kids grow, parents can mindfully give them more liberty to manage their screen time.
5. Ensure that screen time is not hindering the physical activity time or sleep time in any way.
6. If your child is suddenly hooked on to a video game for a week or two, gently remind him/her of the benefits of moderation.
7. Mindful family screen time together can transform its tendency of “my time” into more productive family bonding time. Planning a family cinema time occasionally can help in achieving that goal.
8. We cannot teach children what we do not follow ourselves. Model the behaviour you want in them by limiting your own screen time to maximum 2 hours a day.
9. For young children, sedentary time should be utilised in interactive and educational activities such as storytelling, puzzles, drawing and colouring, clay moulding etc to promote gross motor, fine motor, and cognitive skills.
10. Plan non-screen activities such as family picnics, weekly dinners etc where everyone keeps their screens away for a designated period of time.
11. To reduce the sedentary time during the screen time, try to stand up and change TV channels rather than using a remote. Get up often for a glass of water or to answer the doorbell. Take frequent breaks and keep moving about.
12. To limit the sedentary time in office, schedule walking meetings. Stand up to read at work or use a standing desk. Visit your colleagues more often. Set a reminder on your computer or phone to get up and move more frequently. Walk during the long phone calls.
13. In general, try to be more active. Avoid using a vehicle for short distances, take rest breaks during long car trips, use stairs whenever possible.
14. Pick up outdoor hobbies as far as possible.
15. To ensure a relaxing refreshing rested sleep, please follow sleep hygiene tips. Click here for the pointers.
16. It is important to follow a consistent schedule before bedtime for children to condition their minds for night routine. For example, after dinner, kids can be read stories to calm them down. It can be followed by brushing the teeth, changing into nightwear, and switching off the lights. Soft instrumental music or a calming rhyme or a spiritual prayer can be put in the background for their minds to relax and go off to sleep.
17. An extremely helpful trick to have fixed sleep and wake up times is to have fixed mealtimes. This sets the cycle in rhythm and helps in having disciplined timings for everything.

Some Important Definitions:

1. Screen Time – Time spent in watching any kind of screen such as laptops, smartphones, desktops, tablets, television etc.
2. Sedentary Time – Time spent in sitting and lying down (excludes sleeping; includes screen time). Sedentary time may exclude screen time when an individual is watching a screen and doing some physical activity alongside such as dancing, PlayStations, yoga etc
3. Physical Activity Time – Time spent in doing any physical activity.
4. Physical activity -It is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure (Includes activities undertaken while working, playing, carrying out household chores, travelling, and engaging in recreational pursuits; Not to be confused with exercise which is a planned, structured, repetitive type pf physical activity aimed at improving physical fitness)
5. Sleep Time – Time spent in sleeping (excludes awake resting or lying down time)

Sources:

1. WHO – World Health Organization
2. AAP– American Academy of Paediatrics

Lastly, your children will follow what you practice rather than what you preach. Lead by example, be a role model and that should be enough in most cases. Where it is not enough, seek professional help! Getting these recommendations right is half the battle won in bringing up our most valuable possessions 😊

 Wishing you the best of mental health today and always!

Dr Apala