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Science Says: A Little Screen Time Won’t Make Your Child a Moron

Screen Time for Kids: Not as Bad As You Thought

Little boy listening to his selected music soundtrack that he has chosen off the touch screen on his tablet computer with his eyes closed in concentration and a serious expression

Is screen time for toddlers okay, or will it lead to instant brain-rot? The screen-time debate has been going strong ever since the first black-and-white bunny-eared TV made its way into a suburban living room—and it’s only gotten crazier in our current era of tablets and smartphones.

Chances are, when you first got pregnant you swore on Walt Disney’s grave that your child wouldn’t so much as glance at a screen until they were old enough to drive. And for the first few months, you probably stuck to it. Then reality kicked in: relatives wanted to FaceTime, your seven-month-old pried your iPhone out of your hand and instantly beat you at Bejeweled, and that one time you caved in desperation and put on Sesame Street so you could poop in peace, you were magically able to not only squeeze a log out but also vacuum the entire house while your kid learned every animal that starts with the letter B.

RELATED: Science Says to Stop Feeling Guilty About How Your Family Sleeps

For most parents, screen time is a part of life with toddlers… and is a huge source of guilt. You’ve no doubt heard about the studies linking excessive television viewing to childhood obesity, poor sleep habits, and language delays, and you’re probably torn between the desire to have a healthy kid and the need to just have thirty minutes to get dinner on the table without someone throwing Cheerios at your ankles.

The gloom-and-doom studies have spurned a whole screen-free parenting movement of parents who will flee the room with their tot in tow the minute you turn on Moana, but there’s a key word in all those studies that’s super important to note: “excessive.” While we can all agree that plunking your kid in front of Paw Patrol for twelve hours straight can’t be good for anyone, even the notoriously rigid American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) has acknowledged that screens are part of our reality—and that used sparingly and thoughtfully, they’re likely not as bad as we’ve been led to believe.

Fortunately for those of us who live in the real world, that mentality is starting to penetrate. Even the screen-free parenting gurus have acknowledged the positive effects of limited (versus zero) screen time, and The New York Times Parenting section recently ran a piece on TV shows to watch with your toddler.

Screen Time Recommendations for Your Child

via GIPHY

So how should you handle screen time for toddlers? The AAP has a few recommendations (we’ve added our own take in parenthesis, because reality):

You can view the full list of AAP recommendations here.

Bottom line: despite the handwringing, a little screen time every day is just fine for your kid—and the right shows could even be beneficial for social and educational development. So next time that mom from playgroup who makes her own organic baby food gives you side-eye for letting your kid chillax in front of Sesame Street, feel free to clap back. After all, science is on your side.

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