While experts appear to disagree on two new studies on children and screen time, moderation is key.
Guidance from leading pediatricians said in evidence published in the BMJ Open medical journal that there is little evidence screen use for children is harmful in itself. But researchers found that screen time should be minimized in the hour before bedtime.
The research focused mostly on television viewing time, and was aimed at whether parents should set limits children spend in front of a screen. At the end of January, a report by the journal JAMA Pediatrics, was more critical and said that among toddlers, spending excessive amounts of time staring at screens is linked with poorer performance on developmental screening tests later in childhood.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limits on screen use for preschool children ages 2 to 5 to just one hour a day of high-quality programming.
While the experts may not agree, it would appear that moderation is the key, and that screen time should not replace other activities such as exercise and family time.