Your guide to screen time for school aged children

One of the best ways to get the most out of screen time is watching high-quality programmes with you – and in small doses. Screen time can provide opportunities for language development, and can inspire their imagination and start some great games. 

With so many channels on TV and choices on streaming services, not to mention the billions of videos available on sites like YouTube and TikTok, the choice of what to watch can seem overwhelming. Try to choose high-quality programmes which have positive messages and are age appropriate. For example, CBeebies is great for wee ones, while CBBC will suit older children.

Some games (like Minecraft or games that help children learn to code) can help them develop new skills, while others (like sport or dance games) can even help them keep active. You could check out the Family Gaming Database or the National Literacy Trust's Literacy Apps to find games and apps suitable for the age of your child that can help spark their imagination.

Chat with your child about what's happening on the screen. Point out interesting things, and wonder aloud what might happen next. After viewing, talk about what you've seen and what you liked.

If your child asks you a question, you could look up the answer together and talk about it. For example, if they ask you about space you could look at NASA’s Space Place website. If they ask you about dinosaurs you could look at the Natural History Museum website. 

Or if you’re trying to decide what to do at the weekend you could look at a weather website and talk about what the different symbols mean.

Give your child the chance to take things further by encouraging them to play games based on what they’ve seen. You could provide props, such as a tea towel for a cloak, or make a cardboard crown.

Kids love playing games on their devices, and it’s great to get into the habit of playing with them. Online games and apps can sometimes seem confusing, complicated or silly to parents, so playing together is a great way for you to learn more. This way you can talk to your child about their games and answer any questions. It’s also a good way to keep an eye on what they’re doing when they’re online and who else they’re playing with. And hopefully it’s also fun! 

You can find lots more advice on keeping kids safer online when they’re gaming on the Internet Matters website.

Set rules about when and where your child can use devices like tablets and phones. Don’t have screens on at mealtimes (this goes for you too!) and try to keep them out of the bedroom before bedtime, as looking at screens can make it harder to get to sleep. Our page on setting boundaries has more advice.

Use parental controls and filters on your home internet, devices, phone networks and online services. Our page on protecting your child online has information on setting these up.

It’s always best to supervise small kids when they’re online, in case they accidentally stumble across something which could worry, upset or confuse them. 

If your children are acting up or breaking the rules, it’s tempting to take away tablets or phones as a punishment. However, this may make screen time seem even more desirable! Instead, try to talk to them about their behaviour. There are lots of tips on our pages on coping with being a parent to help with this.

It’s easy to keep the TV turned on all day for the background chatter, but try to turn it off if you’re not actually watching it. And turn it off at least one hour before bedtime.

However ‘educational’ a children’s programme or app is – and many are very useful – they're not the same as interaction with you by talking and looking at books or pictures together.

Unfortunately we tend to sit down while we’re watching screens or playing games. So make sure that some of your child’s screen time is active – for example, they could dance along to music, or try some kids’ exercise videos. 

Try to make sure your child isn’t doing the same thing all the time on their screen, like playing the same game for hours or watching endless unboxing videos on YouTube. Instead you could encourage them to mix up watching short content with longer episodes of a series (this will help with their concentration), and to play a variety of games or use different apps.

As your child gets older, they’ll need to learn to control their screen usage themselves. This isn’t easy – grown ups find this hard! But encouraging them to do things like mix up what they do online, keep an eye on the time they spend on screens and not sit still for too long, will all help them learn. Our page on setting boundaries has more tips to help.