Screen Time and Children's Health

In today’s modern world, we’re all exposed to media — from TV to computers to mobile phones. Screen technology has brought many benefits to our lives, and it’s safe to say we can’t live without it anymore. Still, it’s important to remember that too much screen time can have negative effects and be harmful to children.

Excessive screen time in children can increase the risk of difficulties in several areas, including:

• Language development
• Sleep quality
• Social development
• Attention and learning skills
• Vision
• Eating habits
• Emotional regulation

In addition, more screen time often means less time for play, physical activity, and interaction with others — all of which are essential for healthy child development.

The question isn’t whether to use screens or not — in today’s world, that’s nearly impossible — but rather how to use them wisely and safely, so children can enjoy the benefits of technology without it harming their development. In this article, we’ll explain how to do that in the best way for each age group.

Screen time in early childhood (up to age 6)

Babies and toddlers learn about the world and communication through direct experience: they explore with all their senses, discover what their bodies can and can’t do, and interact with adults and other children.

By contrast, when watching screens, children are passive — they don’t move, explore, play, or engage in conversation. The content they see is very different from real-world experiences: it’s fast-paced, filled with visual and sound effects, and it trains their young brains to expect strong, constantly changing stimuli. This comes at the expense of play, movement, and age-appropriate experiences.

When to start introducing screens

While older children (preschool age) can sometimes learn from watching alone, babies and toddlers need to touch, explore, and try things themselves in order to learn.

There’s no evidence that babies and toddlers can learn language or communication skills from screen time. On the contrary, many studies show a higher risk of delays in communication, speech, language, and emotional regulation among children who are exposed to screens too early. For this reason, pediatric associations in Israel and around the world recommend avoiding screen exposure entirely before age two — including having a screen on in the background.

Usually, around age two, children can start being gradually introduced to different types of screens. Even then, it’s important to consider each child’s individual development. In other words, only if the child can talk about what they saw on screen and can also focus on other activities (like listening to a story or playing) for a reasonable amount of time — screens can be added in moderation.

Choosing age-appropriate content for young children

The content children watch matters a lot: not everything labeled "educational" truly is.

High-quality content is:

• Slow-paced, with moderated visual and sound effects.
• In the child’s native language, or at least in a language they are exposed to socially.
• Free of verbal and physical violence.
• Structured with a clear beginning, middle, and end (unlike, for example, YouTube clips showing random activities like playing with materials, opening gifts, crushing objects, eating, etc.).

How can you tell if content is suitable for children? If, after watching, they can talk about what they saw—even briefly—this means they understood it and can learn from the screen exposure.

Additionally, if you watch content that you enjoyed and your child liked it too, it’s beneficial to watch it multiple times, allowing the child to learn something new with each viewing.

Screens for school-age children (6–18)

By around age 6, most children develop important skills that allow them to benefit more from screen time: they can read, understand more complex stories, follow a plot, and grasp educational messages. Their attention span is longer, and they can sit and focus on content for extended periods.

At this age, high-quality, age-appropriate programs can even support learning—help with language acquisition, introduce other cultures, foster creative thinking, and strengthen reading and writing skills. The concern is not screen use itself, but excessive use that replaces other important activities, or content that is inappropriate for their age and maturity level.

However, even at these ages, too much screen time can affect development, academic performance, and health, so it’s important to maintain clear limits.

• Take breaks: Every 20 minutes, look at something more than 6 meters (about 20 feet) away for 20 seconds.
• Maintain proper posture: Sit at least 30 centimeters (about 12 inches) from the screen to reduce eye muscle strain that can damage eyesight.
• Limit screen time: Avoid prolonged viewing (more than an hour at a time).
• Encourage physical activity: During breaks, engage in movement-based activities such as ball games, outdoor walks, or similar activities.
• Control screen brightness: Set the screen to the highest comfortable brightness. When it gets dark outside, switch to night mode with more red and pink light and less blue light, which is more harmful.

Cell phone radiation and children’s health

In recent years, children are starting to use cell phones at increasingly younger ages, and the long-term effects of exposure to cell phone radiation in young populations have not yet been fully studied. However, due to children’s higher sensitivity to carcinogenic factors and their longer expected lifespan—which likely involves prolonged exposure to mobile devices—extra caution is recommended regarding children’s use of cell phones.

Additionally, cell phone use is usually personal, making it difficult for parents to monitor content. The fact that phones are portable and accessible anywhere also makes it harder to control usage time.

Adults’ screen use—it affects children too

Our own screen use as adults also impacts children, especially young children. Here are some important recommendations:

• Background screens: Research shows that when a TV or other screen is on in the background, showing content not meant for children, the stimuli from the screen disrupt children’s play and affect the development of attention and language skills—even if they aren’t actively watching. Adults are also affected, speaking less with children when a screen is on in the background. Therefore, it’s recommended to turn off screens when children are in the living room. If you want to play music, it’s better to use audio only, without video.
• Using mobile phones: Phones are used for many purposes, some essential even in the afternoon. However, using a phone in children’s presence makes it harder to respond to them consistently and attentively, resulting in less conversation and reduced sensitivity. Studies show that frequent parental phone use in children’s presence negatively affects language development, behavioral-emotional functioning, and attention skills. It’s recommended to minimize phone use around children and turn off notifications.
• Video calls with family: Screens can also have benefits, such as video calls that help maintain warm connections with distant family members. These interactions allow children to be active, receive feedback on their actions, and do not harm language development.

Smart screen use is all about balance. Screens can be useful and enjoyable, but they don’t replace the basic activities children need for healthy development. Key principles to remember: avoid screens entirely until age two; after that, limit screen time, choose high-quality content, and watch together. Equally important—maintain healthy screen habits as a parent, because children learn primarily by example. The goal is to give children the tools to enjoy technology in a healthy, balanced way that enriches their lives rather than limiting them.