Is it okay for my baby or toddler to use screens?
Under age 5
Apart from interactive video-chatting to support long-distance relationships, there is no benefit to exposing babies and toddlers to digital media because:
- Infants cannot absorb screen content, and
- Toddlers do not learn well from screens. They are highly efficient real-life learners but have difficulty relating what they see on screen to real life.
Young children need learning experiences that screens can’t provide like sensory stimulation, human interaction, and being able to physically explore the world around them.
To nurture healthy development, avoid exposing children under 2 years to screens. For children 2 to 5 years, limit routine or non-active screen use to about 1 hour (or less) per day.
Too much screen use has also been shown to increase episodes of preschoolers ‘acting out’ or developing problem behaviours.