A Speech Therapist’s Guide to Screen Time for Babies and Toddlers
Navigating screen time for young children can be a challenging task for parents, especially with the abundance of digital content available today. Keeping in mind the screen time recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is crucial to ensure a balanced approach. For children under 18 months, it's best to avoid screen time altogether, except for video calls which promote social interaction. As children grow, there is room to introduce high-quality, educational content in limited, supervised amounts. This blog post will provide you with practical guidelines and recommended programs to make the most of screen time for your little one, ensuring it remains a positive and enriching experience.
When introducing high-quality video programs, please be mindful of the screen time recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP):
For children under 18 months, it’s best to avoid screen time altogether; however, the AAP considers video calls like FaceTime to be okay. This is because watching tv and playing tablet games are primarily passive activities, and it’s best for your little one to be moving, interacting, and exploring their environment at this age.
For children between 18 and 24 months, parents can introduce high-quality, educational content in limited amounts with supervision.
For children 2 to 5 years old, screen time should be limited to one hour per day of high-quality programming.
That said, screentime is a part of many families’ daily activities and it may be a part of yours, so here helpful guidelines for making the most out of screen time for your little one:
Slow it down.
Avoid fast-paced programs. They may be overstimulating and your little one will not understand them as well.
Preserve routines.
Keep mealtimes, play routines, and bedtime routines screen-free.
Co-view or co-watch.
Watch programs with your little one and use the pause button when you watch. Help them understand what they are seeing and help them apply it to the world around them.
Turn it off.
Turn off televisions and other devices when they are not being used.
Don’t pacify.
Whenever possible, avoid using screen time as a tool to soothe your little one. This might lead to trouble setting limits in the future.
Test it out.
Test apps before letting your child use them. If the apps are game-based, play along with your little one whenever possible.
There are so many options for screen time options. As a speech-language pathologist, I recommend programs that are slow-paced, are not overstimulating, and encourage your little one to participate. Here are some of my favorite, low-stimulation shows and video programs for littles:
“Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” on PBS Kids
“Bluey” on Disney+, CBeebies, and YouTube
“Franklin” on Amazon Prime Video
“Kipper” on YouTube
“Through the Woods” on PBS Kids
“Bear in the Big Blue House” on Disney+
“Trash Truck” on Netflix
“Frog and Toad” on Apple TV
“Little Bear” on Paramount+ and YouTube
“Puffin Rock” on Netflix
“Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” on PBS Kids
“Franklin” on Amazon Prime Video
“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” on Amazon Prime Video
“Guess How Much I Love You” on YouTube
“The Snowy Day” on Amazon Prime Video
“Elinor Wonders” Why on PBS Kids
“Tumble Lead” on Amazon Prime Video
“Curious George” on YouTube
“Frog and Toad” on Apple TV
“Lily’s Driftwood Bay” on Amazon Prime Video
“Stinky and Dirty” on Amazon Prime Video
“Get Rolling with Otis” on Apple TV
Links, Resources, and Support:
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If you need ideas on how to support your toddler’s speech and language development, schedule a caregiver coaching consult for 1:1 support.
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