If I told you that swapping out thirty minutes of screen time with sleep or exercise would help your child be healthier and even happier, would you believe me? Or maybe you would believe me, but would the prospect of that switch seem insurmountable?
Researchers followed over 2,000 five-year-olds in Australia and found that those who replaced thirty minutes of screen time for sleep or exercise had lower BMI, higher quality of life scores, and fewer behavior problems at ages ten through twelve.
As a mom of tweens, I know it is nearly impossible (but not entirely!) to reign in screen habits once they are set. As parents, we are battling upstream against the multibillion-dollar industry that keeps your kids — and I admit it, us parents — hooked. While I am not advocating for parents of older kids to give up on screen time limits, it is much easier to implement these guidelines for younger kids. Start early! Your future self will thank you — and so might your future child.
For Younger Kids, Try Following the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines:
- Under age 18 months: no screen use except video chatting with loved ones.
- 18 months to 2 years: Choose high quality programming that you watch with your child. Avoid letting them use devices on their own.
- 2 to 5 years of age: limit media to 1 hour or less per day of high-quality programming.
- 6 years to adolescent years, consider creating an age-appropriate family media agreement. (www.healthychildren.org/MediaUsePlan)
Don’t Fret if You Are Already Way Over Those Limits. Most people are. But you can start with small changes. If your child is under age 3, those changes will be hard for a few days but most children quickly adapt to the new normal — even with a complete removal of screens — as long as you remain consistent with your new rules. For older children, you can have conversations around the importance of exercise and sleep and get their suggestions for changes. Ask them to create timelines and goals for healthier activities, better sleep, and reduced screen time or social media use. Several of my teenaged patients independently and deliberately reduced their screen time and/or deleted social media accounts because they felt the negative effects. I recommend having the conversation with your older child while allowing them to take the lead on any interventions.
Initiate a Thirty Minute Swap. Like in the study mentioned above, even a thirty minute reduction in screen time makes a real difference. Sleep and exercise have a positive effect on metabolic, circadian, and immune health. Screens tend to do the opposite. If thirty minutes feels daunting, try making changes in ten or fifteen minute increments.
Preserve car rides and mealtimes as family spaces for shared discussion and activities. Similarly, establish vacations as screen-free or limited screen family time. Actively model this for your children. When they experience their parents’ undistracted attention, they may learn to offer this gift to others.
Breakdown.
- It’s hard for anyone to put a screen down. Acknowledge that.
- Being intentional about your family’s screen use can result in healthier children with fewer behavioral problems — and likely less friction between parents and kids.
- Do not beat yourself up over screens — you are far from alone.
- Try small reductions or swaps in screen time. Make sure to get your family’s buy-in.
- Be a role model. Put your phone away when having quality time with your family.
- For more information, read about my screen time rules or my family’s digital detox.
Thank you for reading my human-generated articles! If you found this helpful or educational, please share, follow on your preferred platform, or subscribe below. For parent coaching or consultations, please contact me at www.DrAngel.com.
For more perspective on what it takes to have and raise a thriving little human, check out my show, The Unplanned Parent, on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
References:
Nikooharf Salehi, Elahe et al. “Longitudinal associations of screen time, sleep duration, and physical activity with health and developmental outcomes of Australian children: a compositional and isotemporal analysis.” Journal of science and medicine in sport, S1440-2440(25)00530-4. 5 Dec. 2025, doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2025.12.002
Horner, David et al. “Screen Time Is Associated With Cardiometabolic and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Childhood and Adolescence.” Journal of the American Heart Association vol. 14,16 (2025): e041486. doi:10.1161/JAHA.125.041486
Muth, Natalie D et al. “The Role of the Pediatrician in the Promotion of Healthy, Active Living.” Pediatrics vol. 153,3 (2024): e2023065480. doi:10.1542/peds.2023-065480
