The Do’s and Don’ts of Screen Time

Find out the latest recommendations for children and screen time from leading experts.

Note: This is an excerpt from the book Parenting with Focus

by Katie Ely.

The amount of screen time a child should be exposed to varies from expert to expert. Some recommend no screen time until 18 months old, while others advocate waiting until age three. In 2019, the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) recommended that there should be limited to no screen time for children under age 5.

Author and psychologist John Rosemond recommends that children shouldn't be allowed to watch any television until they have learned to read and have learned to read well. After that, he recommends you only allow your child to watch five hours a week. Psychotherapist and addiction expert Dr. Nicholas Kardaras believes that kids below the age of 10 should have no use of video games or interactive screens (tablets or smart phones). He asserts excessive screen time leads to clinical disorders.

Here’s a summary of the recommendations from The