Screen Time for Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers: How Much Is OK Under 5?

Guidance for under-5s at a glance

What the main guidelines say, by age

The UK government’s Best Start in Life guidance, published in 2026, says to avoid screen time for children under 2 other than shared activities with family that encourage bonding, interaction and conversation, and for 2- to 5-year-olds to try to keep it to one hour a day, less if possible.

The Canadian Paediatric Society’s current statement takes a similar line: no screen time under 2 except interactive video chat that supports long-distance relationships, and about one hour or less of routine sedentary screen time for 2- to 5-year-olds. Raising Children Network in Australia also treats video-chatting with family as acceptable for under-2s because the child is interacting with a real person.

The World Health Organization’s 2019 guidelines say screen time is not recommended for babies under 1 or for sedentary screen time at age 1, and that 2- to 4-year-olds should have no more than one hour, with less being better. WHO’s guidance does not single out video calls.

UK Government — Best Start in Life: Baby and toddler screen time guidance · World Health Organization: To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more · Canadian Paediatric Society: Screen time and preschool children: Promoting health and development in a digital world · Raising Children Network (Australia): Screen time: babies and toddlers

How the AAP’s 2026 update changes the conversation

The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its guidance in 2026 to move beyond simple screen-time limits and focus on quality, context and conversation. It notes that infants under 18 months learn best from real-world interactions, and that features such as autoplay, endless scrolling and targeted ads are not designed with children’s well-being in mind.

For toddlers and preschoolers, the AAP’s Center of Excellence frames its advice around questions about the child, the content and calm. It suggests choosing educational programmes designed for young children, advises against giving a young child open access to a tablet or phone, and encourages parents not to make screens the main way to soothe a child.

Read the numbers from the UK, Canada, Australia and WHO as sensible upper limits, and the AAP’s questions as the way to judge what fills that time.

American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Helping Kids Thrive in a Digital World: AAP Policy Explained · American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Kids & Screen Time: 5 C’s Questions for Toddlers & Preschoolers

Video calls with grandparents are different

Video calling with family is the one screen activity the UK, Canadian and Australian guidance explicitly treats as acceptable for babies and toddlers, because it is a live conversation rather than passive watching. Hold the call together, let the child see and respond to the other person, and keep it short enough to stay interactive.

A video call that becomes a relative reading a story to a toddler is closer to shared reading than to watching a show. A recorded video of the same story is not.

UK Government — Best Start in Life: Baby and toddler screen time guidance · Canadian Paediatric Society: Screen time and preschool children: Promoting health and development in a digital world · Raising Children Network (Australia): Screen time: babies and toddlers

Choose the content, not just the minutes

The UK guidance says slow-paced, predictable content is better for young brains, and that fast-paced, over-stimulating, social-media-style videos may affect how young children learn to concentrate. A gentle episode with a clear beginning and end is a different experience from a stream of short clips.

Watch together when you can. Both the UK guidance and the AAP encourage watching and talking about content with a young child — naming what they see, linking it to real life and pausing to ask questions.

Avoid autoplay and endless feeds for this age group. A planned episode that ends is easier to stop and easier to talk about.

UK Government — Best Start in Life: Baby and toddler screen time guidance · American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Kids & Screen Time: 5 C’s Questions for Toddlers & Preschoolers

YouTube Kids Approved Content Only: How to Let Kids Watch Only Channels You Choose

Background TV, meals and bedtime

Screens that nobody is watching still count. The UK guidance advises not having screens on in the background, particularly during family time, meals or play. The Canadian Paediatric Society also advises avoiding screens during meals and shared book reading.

Both recommend keeping screens out of the hour before bed, and the UK guidance adds keeping bedrooms and mealtimes screen-free. A simple family rule — no screens at the table or in bedrooms — covers most of this without a daily debate.

UK Government — Best Start in Life: Baby and toddler screen time guidance · Canadian Paediatric Society: Screen time and preschool children: Promoting health and development in a digital world

Phone at Night: Should Kids Keep Their Phones in Their Bedrooms?

Tablets in restaurants, cars and waiting rooms

No guideline bans an occasional show on a long journey. The concern raised by the AAP is using a screen as the main way to calm a child, because toddlers also need practice coping with waiting, boredom and frustration.

Pack alternatives that work in small spaces: a board book, stickers, a small toy, a snack, or a game of spotting things around you. If you do use a screen, choose a single downloaded episode rather than an open-ended app, and keep it to the time you actually need. Restaurants are also mealtimes, which the UK guidance suggests keeping screen-free.

American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Kids & Screen Time: 5 C’s Questions for Toddlers & Preschoolers · UK Government — Best Start in Life: Baby and toddler screen time guidance

If you use YouTube Kids with a young child

YouTube Kids offers content levels including Preschool (ages 4 and under), Younger (5–8) and Older (9–12). For the most control, its Approve content yourself setting lets the child watch only videos, channels or collections you have approved, and turns search off.

YouTube says not all videos in YouTube Kids have been manually reviewed, so the age-based settings reduce but do not eliminate unsuitable content. Approved-only mode, plus watching alongside, is the stronger combination for a toddler.

YouTube Kids Help: Create a YouTube Kids profile and choose content settings

YouTube Kids vs Supervised YouTube vs Regular YouTube: Which Should My Child Use?

AI toys, smart speakers and what to watch for

The UK guidance advises not letting young children use AI toys, tools or chatbots until there is more evidence on how they affect children. Treat a talking toy that connects to the internet as a screen-like device: check what it records, where that data goes and whether it can be switched off.

If your child’s speech, sleep, play or behaviour worries you, or screens seem to be crowding out time with people and play, talk to your health visitor or pediatrician. They can look at the whole picture rather than the minutes alone.

UK Government — Best Start in Life: Baby and toddler screen time guidance

AI Girlfriends and AI Companions: What Parents Need to Know

What technology cannot solve

App settings such as YouTube Kids content levels and timers reduce exposure but do not review every video, and not all content is manually checked. No setting can replace watching together or decide what is right for a particular child’s development.

Questions parents ask