Screen time and digital technology use: part of a healthy lifestyle
Screen time and digital technology use are normal parts of life for most children and teenagers. The time your child spends watching TV and using computers, gaming consoles, smart toys, tablets and smartphones can be part of a healthy lifestyle.
It’s all about making sure of these key things:
- Children enjoy plenty of healthy, fun activities, both with and without screens, including physical activity, reading, creative play and social time with family and friends.
- When children do use screens, they watch or use quality content.
And don’t forget sleep! A healthy, balanced lifestyle for children includes enough good-quality sleep.
Current national and international guidelines recommend that children under 2 years don’t have screen time other than video-chatting.
Checklist for a healthy approach to screen time and digital technology use
These questions can help you check whether your child is using screens and digital technology in a balanced and healthy way.
Is your child:
- sleeping enough?
- physically healthy?
- mentally and emotionally healthy?
- engaged with school?
- connecting socially with family and friends, online and offline?
- enjoying a variety of hobbies and interests?
- doing physical activity every day?
- having fun and learning while using screens?
- using quality content?
If you answer yes to most or all of these questions, your child is probably using digital technology in a balanced way as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Questions or concerns about screen time and digital technology use
It’s OK to have questions or concerns about whether your family has a healthy and balanced approach to screen time and digital technology use. The articles below have tips and suggestions to help.
How can we use digital technology in healthy and balanced ways?
- Screen time and digital technology use for children 2-5 years: tips for balance
- Screen time and digital technology use for children 6-11 years: tips for balance
- Teenage screen time and digital technology use: tips for balance
- Screen time, digital technology use and your family: a healthy approach
- Parents, screen time and digital technology use: role-modelling for children
- Screen time and digital technology use: how it affects child and teenage sleep
What is quality content?
- Good apps, games, TV shows, movies and YouTube for preschoolers
- Good apps, games, TV shows, movies and YouTube for school-age children
- Good apps, games, TV shows, movies and YouTube for teenagers
What are the benefits of screen time?
- Sharing screen time and digital technology with children and pre-teens
- Using screen time and digital technology for physical activity: children and pre-teens
- Using screen time and digital technology for learning: children and pre-teens
- Using screen time and digital technology to socialise: children and teenagers
- Social media benefits and risks: pre-teens and teenagers
How can we manage the problems and risks of screen time and digital technology use?
- Managing screen time and digital technology use: strategies for children 3-11 years
- Managing screen time and digital technology use: strategies for teenagers
- Physical problems from screen time and digital technology use: children and teenagers
- Internet safety: children 3-5 years
- Internet safety: children 6-8 years
- Internet safety: children 9-11 years
- Internet safety: teenagers