If you’ve only got a minute:
- Quick Guide:
- Balance, not just limits – Quality is important
- Benefits – Screens can help learning, creativity, and social connection
- Risks – Too much screen time can harm development, health, and mental well-being.
- Recommended Screen Time
- 0-2 years – Avoid screens
- 2-6 years – Max 1 hour/day, no screens at meals or before bed
- 7-12 years – Max 2 hours/day, guide and discuss
- Teens – Set healthy limits; encourage mindful use
- Safer & Smarter Screen Use
- Choose quality content
- Co-watch & discuss
- Set clear limits
- Promote offline activities
- Teach online safety
- Cyber Safety Essentials
- Parental controls – Use filters on devices/apps.
- Privacy matters – No sharing personal info.
- Stay involved – Talk about their online world.
- Singapore’s Efforts – Cyber safety programs, scam protection, and stronger online regulations.
Key takeaway: Guide your children – healthy habits start with balance, boundaries, and open conversations.
Finding the Right Balance for Screen Time
Screens are everywhere in our lives, and for many parents, managing children’s screen time can feel overwhelming. The good news? Not all screen time is bad. It’s about balance and quality rather than simply counting hours.
Some Benefits of Screen Time
Screen time can be valuable when used wisely:
- Gives you a break: Sometimes, screens can help keep children occupied when you need a moment – like on an important call or while waiting in a queue.
- Supports learning: Shows like Sesame Street and Bluey teach social skills, empathy, and early literacy.
- Encourages family bonding: Watching or playing together makes screen time interactive.
- Sparks creativity: Digital tools help children explore skills like coding, video editing, and design.
- Fosters social connections: Video calls and online games can help children stay in touch with friends and family.
The Downsides of Too Much Screen Time
Too much screen time is associated with poorer wellbeing in adults and children. It is also known to impact the following child development needs:
- Safety: Children can come across dangers such as inappropriate videos or online predators. A global study in 2023 found that 67% of children had experienced online risks such as cyberbullying, online sexual behaviours, or video game addiction. Singapore did well on many parameters but received a C grade on policies and regulations to protect children online.
- Attention & Learning: Excessive screen use can hurt language and social skills, as children thrive on face-to-face interactions. A study by NUH found that too much screen time in infancy affects cognitive function (attention, learning, problem-solving, memory, language) at 8 years and beyond. Balance is key.
- Physical health: Long hours on screens can cause headaches, dry eyes, back pain, poor posture and poor sleep. Research shows every extra hour of screen time use by children and teenagers increases lower back pain risk by 8.2%.
- Mental health: Spending over 3 hours daily on social media has been linked to higher anxiety and depression. In Singapore, 1 in 3 young people report severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. This has prompted the authorities to consider more safeguards.
- Identity Development: Screen content can shape a child’s ideas about appropriate behaviour, body image, health and lifestyle. This can affect a child’s psychosocial development, in particular, identity formation. For example, if a child has been influenced by online content on having an unrealistic body image, the child may develop self-esteem issues if they are unable to achieve the unrealistic standards of body weight. Hence, teaching critical thinking about online content and awareness of deep fakes is crucial.
Screen Time Guidelines by Age
Recommendations from Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and other sources:
- 0-18 months: Avoid screens entirely except for video calls with family. Infants need real-world interactions to develop cognitive and social skills. Avoid TV/ screens running in the background.
- 18-24 months: If introduced, screen time should be high-quality educational and interactive content only, and an adult should co-view and discuss the material to help toddlers understand what they are seeing. Screens should not be used just to occupy or distract a child. The World Health Organisation recommends no screen time at all up to 2 years.
- 2-6 years: Limit screen time to one hour per day of educational and age appropriate content. Parents should engage with children during screen time to reinforce learning. Screens should not be used during meals and one hour before bedtime. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests no more than one hour on weekdays and up to three hours on weekends.
- 7-12 years:
- Limit screen use to less than 2 hours a day, outside of schoolwork.
- Develop a screen use timetable or plan to help balance screen use with other offline activities like family bonding, exercise and interacting with peers.
- Do not give unrestricted access to the internet, and avoid giving access to social media.
- The UK’s National Health Services recommends having screen-free days and ensuring physical activity to counterbalance screen use.
- Teens (13+ years): Teens need greater autonomy, but parents should still set reasonable limits. Encourage mindful use, such as screen time for creativity and learning rather than endless scrolling. Social media exposure should be discussed openly to ensure emotional well-being.
Making the Best Use of Screen Time
- Prioritise quality content: Use educational apps and shows (some recommendations).
- Co-view and discuss: Engage with your child during screen time.
- Set clear limits: Have a family screen time schedule.
- Encourage interactive content: Opt for games or creative apps over passive scrolling.
- Promote offline fun: Balance screens with reading, outdoor play, and hands-on activities.
- Teach online safety: Have regular conversations about internet safety and privacy.
- MOH suggests parents avoid background screens (like a TV running in the background) as it reduces parent-child interactions and affects attention span.
- MOH also suggests that screens not be used during meals and one hour before bedtime.
Local resources on screen time management: Health Hub; MOH – more info
Cyber Safety – Protecting Children Online
Children are spending more time online than ever—whether for school, socialising, or gaming. While the internet provides great learning opportunities, it also comes with risks like cyberbullying, scams, and exposure to inappropriate content.
Beyond blocking access to content that is harmful or not age appropriate, parents and schools should also teach safe and responsible digital habits:
11. Lead by Example
- Model healthy screen habits by limiting your own usage.
- Avoid using screens as a distraction.
- Show safe online habits: verifying information/ sources, using strong passwords and two-factor authentication, and protecting your personal info.
2. Use Parental Controls
- Set up parental controls on devices, apps, browsers and social media platforms. These are not enough, but they are a good first step.
- The government’s Digital for Life site provides step-by-step guides for setting up parental controls across different devices and platforms.
- Tools like Google Family Link, Aura, Qustodio, Net Nanny, Norton Family, and Bark help monitor a child’s online activity.
- Social media tools like Family Pairing on TikTok and Family Center on Snapchat and Instagram allow parents to supervise their child’s accounts.
3. Teach Online Privacy & Digital Boundaries
- Just like “good touch, bad touch,” discuss “safe vs unsafe” online interactions.
- Teach children not to share personal info (e.g. passwords, full name, school, address) online.
- Show them how to adjust privacy settings to limit who can see their content.
- Discuss the risks of accepting friend requests from strangers.
- Role-play to prepare them for when they might receive inappropriate messages, be asked for photos, or experience cyberbullying.
- Teach them to recognize and report inappropriate content or suspicious behavior.
- Explain the concept of digital footprints – everything shared online can be permanent.
4. Stay Connected with Your Child’s Digital Life
- Talk regularly and openly with your child about their lives, online and offline – activities, friendships and experiences.
- If your child encounters something disturbing online, make them feel safe discussing it with you, without fearing punishment.
5. Teach Digital Literacy & Safe Online Habits
- Discuss clickbait, phishing scams, and online fraud, helping them recognize warning signs.
- Educate children on how to differentiate between reliable sources and misinformation.
- Show them how to adjust privacy settings on their devices and social media accounts.
- Teach them critical thinking skills when engaging with social media influencers or viral trends.
6. Set Healthy Screen Time Limits
- Rather than just restricting time, focus on how they use screens. Encourage them to view online platforms as tools for learning rather than just entertainment.
- Show the importance of disconnecting from devices e.g. 1 hour before bedtime, to improve sleep and well-being.
- Promote outdoor and hands-on activities, and encourage breaks from screens for health and well-being.
7. Stay informed About Online Trends
- Follow reputable websites and social media channels to stay informed about the latest in online safety and guide your child.
Local resources on cyber safety: TOUCH Cyber Wellness
Singapore’s Cyber Safety Efforts
Singapore is taking strong measures to enhance online safety:
- SG Cyber Safe Students Initiative – educates students on cyber threats and being responsible digital citizens.
- ScamShield App – blocks phishing and fraudulent calls.
- Online Criminal Harms Act – Holds platforms accountable for harmful content.
- MOE Cyber Wellness Programme – Teaches responsible digital habits in schools.
- Media Literacy Council & the SURE Campaign (by National Library Board) – Resources for parents and students to check the reliability of online information, a vital skill for the digital world.
What More Can Singapore Do?
Technology will keep changing at a rapid pace. Here are some suggestions to stay abreast of the latest developments:
- Integrate Cyber Safety education into schools – Introduce digital citizenship as a core subject.
- Workshops for parents – Equip parents with tools to manage cyber risks, and spark community discussions on online risks and best practices.
- International learning – Singapore can continue learning and adopting best practices from around the world. Here are some examples:
- Australia – The eSafety Commissioner promotes online safety education, resources for parents and educators, and reporting mechanisms for children facing online harassment.
- United Kingdom – The UK Safer Internet Centre resources parents, teachers, and children. The recent Online Safety Bill improves protections for children, holding social media platforms accountable for harmful content.
- United States – The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the newly passed Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) require filtering systems in schools to protect children from inappropriate content.
- Estonia – Community engagement to protect children from online threats and cybersecurity education right from kindergarten.
- Japan – Cyber safety education in schools and through initiatives like Docomo Sustainability School.
In Conclusion
Screens and the internet are here to stay, but children need guidance to use them wisely. By setting boundaries, educating them about online safety, and staying involved, parents can help their children develop healthy digital habits while staying safe online.
Local Resources
