How much screen time is too much for children?

The question of screen time for children is a big dilemma for parents today. Andrea Mara speaks with two parents using different approaches that work for them and their families

Jill Holtz has built up trust with her two daughters around asking permission.

SCREEN time for kids — yes or no? It’s a big dilemma for many parents today — confused by conflicting reports about the impact of screen time, struggling under pester-power, and sometimes just desperate for five minutes’ peace and quiet.

A recent study by the Educational Research Centre found that pupils who play computer games “most days” have lower average reading and maths scores than pupils who do so “some days” or never. But ultimately, there was no causality says co-author of the report, Lauren Kavanagh. “While we can say from the findings that there are statistical associations between internet use and reading and maths achievement, and between playing computer games and reading and maths achievement, we can’t infer causal relationships. In other words, we can’t say, for example, that more time spent on the internet causes lower achievement. What we can say is that large amounts of technology use is related to lower reading and maths scores in a way that moderate technology use is not.”