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Free screen time resources for parents

We’ve linked some helpful resources to assist you in your journey to healthy screen time habits in and outside of your household.

We want all parents and families to reach their goals when it comes to screen time.

That’s why we’ve linked below some helpful resources to assist you in your journey to healthy screen time habits in and outside of your household.

Unpacking current screen time guidelines and recommendations

Excessive screen time is the top ‘big problem’ identified for families of children and teenagers in the RCH National child health poll. (link: https://rchpoll.org.au/polls/top-10-child-health-problems/).

Not many families know that the Australian Government has guidelines around young children’s screen time.

These recommendations are included in the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for birth to 5 years old, that also provide guidance on children’s sleep and physical activity. Currently they recommend no screen time for children under the age of 2 years and a maximum of 1 hour per day for children 2 - 5 years old, but less is best. FaceTime or Video calling is an exception. The guidelines also promote: Have fun! Move and Play Everyday! Which is reflected in the World Health Organisation physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep guidelines.

But don’t freak out!

For many families, this is unrealistic with reports suggesting less than 25% of families around the world are currently meeting those guidelines.

Healthy Screen time

Rather than focusing only on zero screen time, there are ways in which parents can support healthy screen time, while balancing that with screen free activities.

Top 5 Healthy screen time tips

  1. If no one’s watching, turn it off: Children find it difficult to focus on what they are meant to be doing if the screen is on around them. If you want to fill the silence, try playing music instead.
  2. Make screen time interactive: Practice ‘interactive co-viewing’ where you use the content on a screen to interact with your child and encourage them to engage with the content e.g., singing, dancing, asking questions.
  3. Try avoid screen time with mealtime: Family mealtime is a great opportunity to build connection and interact with your child, this is the case for breastfeeding and bottle-feeding too. Start slow and try turning the screen off for one meal and gradually increase as your family learns the new routine.   
  4. Choose content carefully: We recommend sticking with platforms like ABC Kids that continue to develop age-appropriate and educational content.
  5. Set boundaries early and follow them yourself: Boundaries help provide children with predictable routines, ensure they feel safe, and support them in growing in their independence. Children will want to do what you do; model healthy screen time behaviours and try to not be on your phone too much around them.

Click here to download your free healthy screen time tips to keep around your house.

Note: these and more are all downloadable in the free online self-paced program linked below:

Online self-paced Parents / caregiver program

Exploring your child and family’s screen time

By unpacking your child and family’s screen habits and routines, you can able to identify areas you may want to change or regulate. This can be done easily through the 5 W’s of screen time. 

Creating healthy screen time habits

Rather than focusing only on zero screen time, there are ways in which parents can support healthy screen time, while balancing that with screen free activities.

Interactive Co-viewing

Children under 2 years are unable to easily understand and translate what is happening on the screen to everyday life. This is where interactive co-viewing, where an adult uses the screen content to repeats words or phrases, encourages movement or singing, or uses concepts/characters to prompt interactive play, can support parent-child interaction and learning through screen time.

Interactive co-viewing can be used to support social and emotional wellbeing, language and cognitive skills and physical wellbeing.

Screen free activities

Balancing screen time means participating in activities away from the screen (books, toys, imaginative play), talking to your child even if they can’t talk back yet, and going outside and exploring nature. Families should always aim to have more screen-free time then screen time in their child’s day to support healthy development. Here are some easy ideas for screen free activities you may want to engage in.

Online Safety

Being safe online is important even from a very young age so children don’t accidently access harmful or age-inappropriate content. One way of ensuring online safety is by picking age-appropriate and educational content.

Check out the e-Safety website for more tips on parent controls and being safe online: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/parental-controls

Challenging Behaviours with screen time

Infants and toddlers are in the very early stages of social, emotional and language development and may not always be able to tell us how they feel or what they need or want. Instead, they have to show us.  When children have a tantrum or display other challenging behaviours, their feelings are so big and intense that it is very difficult to talk or reason with them. This can be really challenging as a parent or carer, but remember this is a normal part of their development. 

Parental Guilt & burnout

Screen time challenges and tantrums may create parental guilt/burnout. The following parent support resources have been provided to pass onto parents should you feel you require mental health and additional support.

Additional useful websites/links for healthy and safe screen time