Digital vs analog games – How much screen time is enough?

0-3 years: preferably no screen media, no more than 30 minutes of audio media, regularly looking at and reading books aloud 3-6 years: no more than 30 minutes in front of the screen, no more than 45 minutes listening to audio media, regularly looking at and reading books aloud 6-10 years: maximum 45-60 minutes of screen media, maximum 60 minutes of audio media, regular reading aloud or reading The following is recommended for older children and adolescents: 10-12 years: one hour per day or seven hours per week 13-14 years: 1.5 hours per day or 10.5 hours per week 15-16 years: two to 2.5 hours per day or 14-17.5 hours per week These are of course only recommendations. It doesn’t depend on the exact number of minutes, but it is important for families to set rules. It also doesn’t help a child to impose prohibitions and at the same time demand that they sit quietly and occupy themselves without anything else to do. Unbridled consumption, on the other hand, as a study in which more than 7,000 young children took part, shows that one-year-old children who regularly consume media can already show developmental delays at the age of two. Primary school children who spent two hours or more a day in front of a screen had significantly more mental health problems. Demonizing digital consumption is by no means the right approach either. We live in a digital world in which children have to learn how to use it under parental guidance. Finally, as studies have also shown, digital media can also promote development.