We’ve all had our baby FaceTime with grandma and grandpa, shown them a captivating contrast video of dancing fruit (if you know, you know), or cuddled them while we’re unwinding over a TV show after dinner.
Then we hear about parents who are completely against any sort of screen time for their infants. And of course, there are the news reports about how detrimental screen time is for babies.
Should parents actually worry about these kinds of screen exposures when their baby is between 0 to 1 year of age? How about when they’re between 1 to 2 years old?
HuffPost asked two child development experts to share their thoughts. Here’s what to know:
How long do child development experts think babies should avoid screens?
The pediatricians HuffPost spoke to shared that their personal opinion is that babies should be kept away from screens for as long as possible. The official guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics states that children should avoid screens until they are at least 18 months old, with an exception made for video calls.
“In the first years of our lives, we’re constantly absorbing and learning, and our brains are growing and developing. We change more in those first two years than we will in the rest of our lives,” explained Dr. Sean McKenna, a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
Babies thrive from using all their senses to explore their world, whether it’s playing, moving about or interacting with others. These experiences are nourishing for their brain, teaching them new things and supporting their development at that young age, he said.
“Children don’t learn as well from two-dimensional images,” added Dr. Fadiyla Dopwell, a board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Pediatrix Medical Group in Dallas, Texas. If a baby is watching a screen, there’s not much processing or learning happening in their brain, especially when they are under 2, she said.
Screen-based media is designed to capture and hold the attention of young children. “The earlier kids start watching TV and other screens, the harder it is for them to focus on things that aren’t TV and screens,” said McKenna.
Research has shown that screen time in a child’s first years of life appears to be linked to diminished executive functioning when they reach elementary school age. Executive functioning is the ability to stay focused, plan, organize and self-regulate their emotions and behaviors, according Dopwell.
OK, but what if the baby is exposed to short bursts of screen time occasionally?
Both pediatricians acknowledged that we live in a world that relies on screens. While some families may be able to enforce a strict policy around their infants, this is unrealistic for other families.
Experts know it’s impossible to avoid exposing your baby to screens completely. If your baby is exposed to short bursts of screen time occasionally, you shouldn’t stress over it.
The main things to be mindful of are to keep the exposures minimal, choose appropriate content, and to always be present and engaged with your baby during the screen time.
Video chats are fine for babies under 18 months, Dopwell said. As is holding your baby while you’re watching one episode of a TV show or a film. Just make sure to leave a nice gap between watching the show and your baby’s bedtime, she added.
Dopwell cautioned against binge-watching videos or shows while your baby is in the same room. “They’re constantly being stimulated by all of the noise, even if they’re not engaging with the show or not turning to it consistently.”
If you have a baby who is crawling or walking, and you need to take a shower or prep lunch or just need a break, keeping them occupied in a playpen or a room with a baby gate may not always be possible. Sometimes giving them a short video to watch can be a solution ― and that’s perfectly OK, according to both experts.
In these situations where your only option is to use screen time to occupy your baby, “I would probably do it in 15-minute bursts,” McKenna said.
Play a video for 15 minutes, following this with 15 minutes of screen-free interaction with your baby, he said. If you need a second 15 minutes of video time, repeat the process. McKenna’s “reasonable limit [of screen time for babies] is 15 minutes at a time, for a half hour total [per day].”
Choose a video or show that is appropriate for the child during that 15 minutes. “Pick something that is trying to engage them, that is asking questions to its audience. If your child is getting up and being silly, dancing around with what’s happening on the screen, answering questions, that’s really what you want. You don’t want it to just be entertaining, where they just sit and stare at it,” McKenna explained.
Finally, “don’t put on things that would be disturbing, like horrible violence, something that’s frightening, something that’s very loud, something involving a lot of fast movement that is going to try to lock them in and hold their attention,” he added.
What if your baby was exposed to screens really early?
As mentioned, the guidance is that you should wait until babies are at least 18 months old before introducing screen time. But what if they’ve already been watching TV and YouTube prior to 18 months?
Thankfully, “there’s no irreversible damage,” Dopwell said. “For infants and toddlers, their brains are still growing and changing.”
It may take effort on the parent’s part to reduce screen time, but “it’s never too late,” McKenna said.
If you’re trying to move your baby or toddler away from screens, Dopwell encouraged cutting down the length of screen time gradually. If your child usually watches a 30-minute show, shorten it to 25 minutes or 20 minutes for several days, observing how they respond. If they take to it well, shorten it by another 5 or 10 minutes for the next few days.
McKenna also suggested being present and engaging with them each time they are watching the screen, to learn what your child loves about that video or game. Then, see if you can find ways to recreate the experience for them in another activity.