screen time for children Archives

News

August 4, 2026

Thriving Kids Podcast Focuses on How to Have Tough Conversations with Children

Conversations on hard topics with children can be challenging, but the latest Thriving Kids podcast episode notes that these types of conversations are often the ones that children most need caregivers to start.

In the podcast, Dave Anderson, PhD, the Child Mind Institute’s senior psychologist and vice president of public engagement and education, joins Kate Snow, a senior national correspondent for NBC News and anchor for “NBC News Daily,” to discuss the topic.

The discussion revolves around Snow’s years of reporting on difficult topics, from substance use to the toll of the digital world on teenagers. Anderson and Snow discuss what children are often seeing and experiencing online, and why it is important to talk to children about tough topics early and often, rather than waiting for the “right moment.”

Some tips from the Child Mind Institute on the topic include:

Don’t wait for a crisis to start the conversation. Bring up difficult topics – a scary headline or even just a rough day – before things reach a breaking point. Low-key check-ins make it easier for children to open up when it matters.
If you’re worried, ask directly and calmly. Asking a child how they’re really doing – even about something as serious as suicidal thoughts – doesn’t plant the idea or make things worse. Instead, it shows them they have someone safe to talk to, which can be a relief for them.
Get a real picture of their world online. Children are usually on their phones far more than caregivers realize. Ask open-ended questions about what they’re seeing, who they are talking to, and which apps they use most.
Model the habits you want to see. Children notice when their parents are glued to their own phones. Naming your own limits out loud – such as mentioning that you are putting away your phone at the dinner table – teaches balance more effectively than rules alone.
Protect the relationship, not just the rules. Prioritize connection over correction through activities such as walks together, cooking dinner side by side, or game nights. Low-stakes, fun time together helps to build a foundation of trust, which makes hard conversations possible when you need to have them.

For more information, listen to the Thriving Kids podcast.

News

July 14, 2026

PA Key Health Trend Report Focuses on How Screen Time Affects Early Childhood

The Pennsylvania Key’s latest health trend report focuses on screen time and digital media use in early childhood and provides tips for caregivers on how to regulate it.

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The report notes that screen time is now an integral part of daily activities for many families, and that it’s common for young children to use smartphones, tablets, interactive content, short-form videos, and AI-assisted learning apps.

By age 2, The Pennsylvania Key writes, four in 10 children have their own tablet and, by age 4, more than half do. Overall, about 47% of children under age 8 have their own tablet device.

Parent surveys show that one in five families use mobile devices to help manage their children’s bedtime routines, mealtimes, and emotional regulation.

Impacts

Young children learn best from real-world interactions, so heavy solo screen use can affect their developing language and social skills, depending on how much time they spend daily on digital media and how adults use screens to calm or entertain them, the report notes.

Some concerns stemming from the misuse of digital media in young children include:

Delays in language, thinking, and social skills
Slower vocabulary growth and conversational skills
Fewer face-to-face interactions, which lead to less spent time learning with loved ones, less reading, less independent play, and less time moving around and for exploration
Overreliance on screens for emotional regulation
Fewer opportunities to develop patience and self-control

A study published in Developmental Psychology found that using digital devices to calm or district very young children was linked to increased behavioral problems over time. Rapidly changing video content and highly stimulating media can be challenging to young children’s sustained attention and self-regulation.

The report also references a surgeon general’s advisory that screen exposure can also be disruptive to healthy sleep, which is fundamental to learning, mood behavior, physical health, and overall development.

Tips in the article include:

Promote balanced media use, such as high-quality educational content or video chatting with relatives.
Keep picture books for story time because they help children to connect the words to the pictures on the page.
Look for these qualities when evaluating digital apps: active, engaging, meaningful to the child, iterative, socially interactive, and joyful to experience.
Monitor young children’s chatbot interactions; until AI product developers are clearer about labeling what a product is and what it provides, caregivers should take care to guide children to understand AI tools and their limitations as social partners.
Model healthy screening habits – while it may be hard to keep phones completely out of sight, carve out some boundaries by encouraging screen-free routines (at the kitchen table, for example) and model a consistent and united front when managing digital technology for children.

For more information and additional tips, read The Pennsylvania Key’s health trends report.

News

July 7, 2026

Thriving Kids Podcast Episode Tackles Effects of Smartphones and Social Media on Children

Although smartphones and social media are often cited as significant factors that contribute to the youth mental health crisis, a new episode of the Thriving Kids podcast discusses how research on the matter isn’t as cut and dry.

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In the podcast episode, Dave Anderson, PhD, the Child Mind Institute’s senior psychologist and vice president of public engagement and education, discusses this topic with Candice Odgers, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of California who is one of the leading researchers studying technology and adolescent mental health.

For more than 20 years, Odgers has tracked young people’s daily lives, often through their own phones, to understand what shapes their well-being. In the podcast episode, she explains that data shows social media to be one of the weakest predictors of children’s mental health, how correlation can get mistaken for causation, and what evidence shows about phone bans in schools.

She also emphasizes that family relationships, quality friendships, sleep, and the well-being of adults in their lives are what really matters when it comes to supporting children’s mental health.

Some tips provided during the podcast for supporting a child’s mental health without making the phone the entire conversation include:

Look at the whole picture, not just the screen: When something feels off, resist the urge to blame the phone first. Make sure a child is getting the basics that protect mental health – real-world social connection, enough sleep, and activities that help to build identity and self-confidence.
Keep the line of communication open: Think of your role as scaffolding – give children age-appropriate independence while keeping a line of open communication so they feel that they can come to you. Children are more likely to tell a caregiver when something goes wrong online if they respond to problems calmly and without judgment, and not immediately resorting to taking a device away.
Pay closer attention to children who are already struggling: Children going through a difficult time or under stress are more vulnerable to the downsides of social meda. Keep an eye on how a child seems after they have been on their phone. If they are withdrawn, upset, or showing signs of anxiety or depression, it’s worth a closer look and, if necessary, a conversation with a mental health professional.
Model the balance you want to see – especially with sleep: Children notice how the adults around them use their phones. Set an example with phone-free dinners and family time, and protect sleep with a no-phones in the bedroom policy after a set time. Sleep deprivation is among the most common contributors to low mood in teens.

For more information, listen to the Thriving Kids podcast.

News

July 7, 2025

Child Mind Institute Shares Resources on Setting Screen Time Rules for Summer

As summer temperatures heat up, parents will likely want to encourage their children to spend more time outside and hope that they’ll spend less time thinking about screen time.

The Child Mind Institute has put together a list of resources on how to make effective rules for screen time during the summer.

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Most parents will want to limit their children’s screen time and, more importantly, not spend much of the summer arguing about it.

The Child Mind Institute has shared tips for identifying the tech-related harms that parents will want their children to avoid as well as the activities they’ll want to encourage. It also discusses how to make a practical plan to achieve both objectives.

The resources include recommendations on screen use for children who are neurodivergent and strategies to keep children reading over the summer. The Child Mind Institute proposes ways to provide the structure that children with ADHD need to thrive while on summer vacation.

Lastly, the resources explore how parents should not be afraid to let their children become bored because there are lessons they can learn from it.

Here are The Child Mind Institute’s resources on how to approach screen time for children during the summer:

For more information, visit The Child Mind Institute’s website.