{"id":90433,"date":"2018-07-21T07:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-07-21T14:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/?p=90433"},"modified":"2025-08-25T19:14:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T02:14:33","slug":"raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Screen Time Principles to Establish When Your Kids are Still Babies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-90434\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_575492524-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"390\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_575492524-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_575492524-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_575492524-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_575492524.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px\" \/>Screen time \u2014 how much is too much \u2014\u00a0is a red-hot issue right now and for good reasons. Now, with several decades of a technology-saturated lifestyle behind us, <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5341707\/screen-use-adhd-study\/\">the research<\/a> repeatedly tells us: Too much screen time can be detrimental to kids.<\/p>\n<p><em>Balance<\/em> is the new black when it comes to screen time. However, if you are parenting younger children, you may be confused by the mixed signals surrounding you. <a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/consumer\/consumer-threat-notices\/connected-family-smarthome-2017\/\">Studies state the risks<\/a>, yet everywhere you turn, the retail shelves are brimming with digital products targeting babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Which way should a parent turn?<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Wee Ones<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends keeping all screens off around babies and toddlers younger than 18 months. They note that a small amount of screen time is acceptable for older toddlers and that children two and older should get no more than an hour of screen time per day as long as it\u2019s quality shows or games.<\/p>\n<p>So the focus remains on balance for the entire family. It\u2019s tempting to use technology as a babysitter when your kids are younger (guilty party, right here!). However, the more we know about the downside of too much screen time, the more motivating it is to curb it. If you are parenting a younger crew, here are some basics to keep in mind if you want to stay on top of their screen time.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>5 Tech Principles for Young Families<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Set goals early.<\/strong> When your kids are still babies, sit down with your partner and develop a healthy screen time plan. What is healthy for your child? What works in the context of your family? If you decide on 30 minutes a day of a specific program or interactive game, stick to that limit. As difficult as it can be at times, try to avoid the temptation to calm a crying baby or toddler with television, tablet, or a handheld game. Options to screens depending on age might include books, a stroller ride, exploring outdoors, self-directed play, music, touch\/sensory toys, face-to-face play.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-90435\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_85975285-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_85975285-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_85975285-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_85975285-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_85975285.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> Every age group will vary on acceptable screen time. When kids get older, establish family ground rules and attach consequences to those rules. Be sure you do your part, parent. Don\u2019t leave kids unsupervised with their technology, keep screens out of bedrooms, and <a href=\"http:\/\/securehomeplatform.mcafee.com\/\">monitor their connected devices<\/a> and online activity. Revisit your ground rules from time to time and make sure your child not only understand the rules but also <em>why <\/em>they are necessary. When age-appropriate, be sure to include kids in amending ground rules, so they feel the rules are in place to protect a privilege and not a punishment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Limit and co-view content.<\/strong> The AAP recommends for children ages two to five years of age, limit screen use to one hour per day of high-quality programs. Also, parents should consider co-viewing media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be consistent, maintain balance over time. <\/strong>For children, ages six and older, the AAP recommends placing consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media. Make every effort screen time does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to your child\u2019s health.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-90436\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_618933809-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_618933809-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_618933809-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_618933809-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_618933809.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/li>\n<li><strong>Media free time.<\/strong> Establish media-free family times as well as zones such as the bedroom, dinner table, car time and restaurants. Keep in mind that modeling this behavior, as a parent is key to your child adopting his or her healthy screen time habits. Be aware of the time you spend on devices and binging on those TV shows \u2014 your kids are watching and absorbing your media habits.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Start talking early and often.<\/strong> It\u2019s never too early to start having the technology discussion. Just as you teach a child why eating cake for every meal isn\u2019t healthy, so too, for health reasons, limits must be put on screen time. As kids begin interacting with peers online, start talking about online citizenship and safety, including treating others with respect online and offline.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>No doubt about it \u2014 technology has improved our lives in incredible ways and enhanced every part of our culture from education\u00a0to health, to entertainment, to business. However, as parents, it\u2019s critical to present our kids with the whole picture, which includes the ways technology, if poorly used, can threaten our quality of life. Helping kids understand that too much technology can make you tired, cranky, and even harm your brain, has become part of our role as digital parents, caregivers, and grandparents.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-83320\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"toni page birdsong\" width=\"93\" height=\"93\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-32x32.jpg 32w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-50x50.jpg 50w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-64x64.jpg 64w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-96x96.jpg 96w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy-128x128.jpg 128w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Toni_headshot2017_FNL-copy.jpg 1728w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 93px) 100vw, 93px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\"><i>Toni\u00a0Birdsong is a\u00a0Family Safety Evangelist\u00a0to\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/consumer\/en-us\/store\/m0\/index.html\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>McAfee<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>. You can find her on Twitter\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/McAfee_Family\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>@McAfee_Family<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>. (Disclosures).<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Screen time \u2014 how much is too much \u2014\u00a0is a red-hot issue right now and for good reasons. Now, with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":642,"featured_media":116644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[5535,4131,2205,5531,5536,5537,4222,321],"coauthors":[3359],"class_list":["post-90433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-safety","tag-american-academy-of-pediatrics","tag-internet-of-things","tag-protecting-kids-online","tag-screen-time","tag-screen-time-limits","tag-screen-time-study","tag-social-media","tag-social-networking"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Screen Time Principles to Establish When Your Kids are Still Babies | McAfee Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Screen time \u2014 how much is too much \u2014\u00a0is a red-hot issue right now and for good reasons. 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Now, with several decades of a technology-saturated lifestyle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"McAfee Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/McAfee\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-21T14:00:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-26T02:14:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/shutterstock_575492524.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Toni Birdsong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@McAfee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@McAfee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Toni Birdsong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Toni Birdsong\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/43ae9712cde24fe81854f2daa0af1228\"},\"headline\":\"5 Screen Time Principles to Establish When Your Kids are Still Babies\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-21T14:00:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T02:14:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/\"},\"wordCount\":793,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/AdobeStock_301279991baby-and-mom-working.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"American Academy of Pediatrics\",\"Internet of Things\",\"protecting kids online\",\"screen time\",\"screen time limits\",\"screen time study\",\"social media\",\"social networking\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Family Safety\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/\",\"name\":\"5 Screen Time Principles to Establish When Your Kids are Still Babies | McAfee Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/raising-digital-kids-5-timeless-tech-principles-to-establish-when-your-kids-are-young\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/AdobeStock_301279991baby-and-mom-working.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-21T14:00:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T02:14:33+00:00\",\"description\":\"Screen time \u2014 how much is too much \u2014\u00a0is a red-hot issue right now and for good reasons. 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