Common Sense Media Tip of the Week

Is the Amount of Screen Time My Kid Gets Normal?

As parents in the digital age, we have a lot to manage, and our kids' time on screens is not the least of it. It's easy to get anxious and wonder if we're doing it right, or, at least, if what we're doing is "normal."

Our new research shows that tweens and teens are using nearly 5 to 7.5 hours of screen media a day, which is an increase from 2016. As of 2017, kids 0-8 spend about two hours on screens each day; however, it's likely that number's gone up, too. But since there's no exact number of minutes around how much is too much for each age, how can we know if our kid are in the Goldilocks zone of "just right"?

Here are some questions you can use to get a sense of whether or not your kid's screen use is in balance with the rest of their lives:

• Are they physically healthy and sleeping enough?
• Are they feeling connected to others? Engaged and doing okay at school?
• Pursuing hobbies?
• Having fun when they use screens?

If you can answer yes to these questions, and you're not dealing with tons of conflict about screens in your house, then you let screen time fall into the "Keep an Eye On It" category instead of the "I Should Probably Worry About This All the Time" category.

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