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There is no single healthy screen-time number for everyone. A useful starting point is to count recreational use separately from work or school, then check whether screens are displacing sleep, movement, learning, relationships or unstructured play. Canadian 24-hour movement guidance uses benchmarks of up to 2 hours of recreational screen time for ages 5–17 and up to 3 hours for adults 18–64. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no routine media for children younger than 18 months except video chat, co-viewed high-quality media for ages 18–24 months, up to 1 hour daily for ages 2–5, and an individualized family plan from age 6 onward.
Screen-time guidance at a glance
The figures below are benchmarks for recreational media, not a universal safe maximum for every screen minute. Work, school assignments, telehealth and accessibility tools may require separate decisions. Use the companion sleep and activity targets to judge the whole day.
| Age group | Recreational screen guidance | Other 24-hour priorities |
|---|---|---|
| Under 18 months | Discourage screen media; interactive video chatting is the exception. | Prioritize responsive caregiving, talking, movement and sleep. |
| 18–24 months | If media is introduced, choose high-quality programming and watch together; avoid solo use. | Keep screens from replacing interaction, play and sleep. |
| 2–5 years | 1 hour or less per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing. | Protect active play, sleep, language-building interaction and routines. |
| 5–17 years | No more than 2 hours per day of recreational screen time (Canadian benchmark). | At least 60 minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous activity and age-appropriate sleep. |
| Adults 18–64 | No more than 3 hours per day of recreational screen time (Canadian benchmark). | No more than 8 hours sedentary overall, at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity weekly, and 7–9 hours of sleep. |
| Children and teens age 6+ | AAP recommends an individualized Family Media Plan rather than one universal cap. | Safeguard sleep, physical activity, school, relationships and offline time. |
The under-5 recommendations come from the AAP’s 2016 policy statement. The age-5–17 and adult benchmarks come from Canadian 24-hour movement guidance reported by Statistics Canada (2017) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (2021). AAP guidance updated in 2024–2025 emphasizes a child’s overall routine rather than a single quota.
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Two people can spend the same amount of time on a device and experience very different effects. A live video call with a grandparent, a school lesson, a relaxing game and an upsetting social-media feed are different exposures. Assess each activity by five questions:
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- Purpose: Is the screen needed for work, school, health care, communication or leisure?
- Content: Is it age-appropriate, constructive and understandable, or frightening, commercial or relentlessly stimulating?
- Context: Is someone watching with the child, discussing what happens and helping the child apply it offline?
- Timing: Does use occur near bedtime, during meals or in situations that require attention and conversation?
- Displacement: What would this time otherwise contain—sleep, outdoor activity, homework, face-to-face relationships, chores or creative play?
AAP’s 2024 clinical report describes moderately strong evidence linking higher screen use with obesity risk and depressive symptoms, while evidence for many other outcomes is weaker. These are associations from studies, not proof that screen minutes alone cause every outcome. AAP therefore says its evidence-based guidance does not set one limit that applies to all children and teens.
A pandemic-era cross-sectional analysis cited in that report found mean total daily screen use of 7.7 hours, compared with 3.8 hours before the pandemic. Those are study findings about a particular period and population, not healthy targets and not a recommended allowance.
Screen time by age
Babies younger than 18 months
The AAP recommends discouraging screen media in this stage, apart from interactive video chatting. Infants learn through eye contact, vocal exchanges, handling objects and moving their bodies. If a video call is necessary, an adult can hold the baby, name the people on screen and respond to the baby’s cues instead of leaving the device running as background noise.
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Keep phones and tablets out of the crib and do not use a screen to settle every fuss. A predictable sequence—feeding, cuddling, dim lights and a quiet sleep space—supports sleep without making a device part of the soothing routine.
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Children 18–24 months
Families who introduce media should select high-quality programming and watch together. Co-viewing lets an adult pause, label objects, answer questions and connect an on-screen idea to a real toy, person or activity. Solo viewing is the pattern to avoid because a toddler may not understand the content or transfer what was shown to real-world learning.
Short, planned sessions work better than an always-available device. Turn off autoplay, remove the device when the program ends and offer a physical activity or conversation immediately afterward.
Preschoolers ages 2–5
The AAP’s benchmark is 1 hour or less per day of high-quality programming, with an adult co-viewing. Choose content that is slow enough to follow, free of frightening surprises and designed for the child’s developmental stage. Watching together is more valuable than simply selecting an educational label: ask the child to predict what will happen, repeat new words and act out the story away from the screen.
Use a consistent daily window rather than negotiating after the child is already tired. A visual schedule, a five-minute warning and a clear next activity can make stopping less confrontational. If a child regularly loses sleep, active play or interest in people, reduce or reschedule media even if the nominal limit has not been reached.
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School-age children and teenagers
For ages 5–17, the Canadian benchmark is no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time per day, alongside at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity and age-based sleep targets. Treat the two-hour figure as a planning reference, not permission to postpone sleep or movement until the remaining minutes are used.
From age 6, AAP recommends an individualized Family Media Plan. A plan can distinguish homework from entertainment, identify which apps are allowed, set device-free routines and explain how an exception is handled for travel, illness or a major school project. Revisit it as school demands, sports seasons, friendships and the child’s maturity change.
Teenagers need increasing participation in the rules. Discuss notifications, group chats, privacy, upsetting content and how to seek help. A rule that protects sleep and safety is more useful than one that counts every minute identically.
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For adults 18–64, Canadian public-health guidance recommends no more than 3 hours per day of recreational screen time. The same framework calls for no more than 8 hours of sedentary time overall, at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each week and 7–9 hours of sleep. The recreational figure does not establish a maximum for a person whose job requires prolonged computer use; it signals how much leisure screen use fits alongside movement and recovery.
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Start by separating categories in your tracking: paid work, education, essential communication, caregiving, exercise instruction and leisure. A long workday followed by several hours of scrolling may leave little time for movement even when each work session was necessary. Break up sitting with brief standing or walking intervals, place the monitor and keyboard to reduce strain, and schedule non-screen leisure so relaxation does not automatically become more scrolling.
Use symptoms and functioning as feedback. Persistent sleep loss, headaches, neck or wrist pain, skipped meals, reduced exercise, difficulty concentrating or conflict with family are reasons to change timing, posture, content or boundaries—not merely to argue about a number.
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Night-time use can delay sleep by extending activity, exposing the eyes to bright light and keeping the brain engaged with messages, games or emotionally intense content. Canadian guidance advises removing screens from bedrooms and limiting use before bedtime; AAP family guidance recommends ending recreational screen use about one hour before bed.
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Make the bedroom a charging location rather than a media location. Use an alarm clock if the phone is the device that keeps you checking notifications. For children, set a household “devices away” time, dim lights and move into a repeatable routine of washing, reading on paper and quiet conversation. If an older teen or adult must use a screen late for work, lower brightness, choose calm content, stop notifications and preserve a consistent sleep opportunity.
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How to build a family media plan
A written plan turns vague intentions into rules everyone can follow. The AAP recommends creating one and revisiting it as circumstances change.
- List the day’s non-negotiables. Write the child’s sleep window, school or homework, meals, hygiene, outdoor or active time, chores, family connection and unstructured play.
- Separate media by purpose. Mark which uses are school, communication, health or recreation. Decide which educational or social uses need an adult nearby.
- Choose locations and timing. Keep bedrooms and mealtimes screen-free, and set the household end time for recreational media before sleep.
- Set content and contact rules. Use age-appropriate ratings, disable autoplay where possible, review privacy settings and agree on what to do if a frightening, sexual or bullying message appears.
- Plan transitions. Give a warning, use a timer or visual schedule, save work before stopping and name the next offline activity.
- Model the plan. Adults should follow the same meal and bedroom boundaries when practical; children notice exceptions more than explanations.
- Review, do not punish by default. After a week or two, ask whether sleep, mood, activity, schoolwork and relationships improved. Adjust the plan for exams, travel, illness or developmental changes.
Practical rules that protect the whole day
- Keep bedrooms and mealtimes screen-free, and remove devices before sleep.
- Give daily movement and adequate sleep priority before adding recreational media.
- For young children, co-view and discuss content instead of leaving a program running in the background.
- Use device settings to silence nonessential notifications during homework, meals and the bedtime routine.
- Offer an appealing offline replacement—outside play, music, crafts, reading, a walk or time with another person—so “turn it off” is not the only instruction.
- Check posture, viewing distance, room lighting and regular breaks, especially during long computer sessions.
When to change the plan
Reduce, reschedule or seek professional advice when screen use repeatedly causes a child or adult to miss sleep, physical activity, school or work responsibilities, meals or relationships. Other warning signs include intense distress whenever a device is removed, secrecy about use, exposure to harmful content, persistent headaches or eye strain, and mood changes that track with online experiences.
A practical first adjustment is to remove the most disruptive session—usually late-night or automatic scrolling—rather than banning every screen. Keep a simple log for several days, noting purpose, time, sleep, activity and mood. The pattern can show whether the problem is duration, content, timing or the activity screens displaced.
Is two hours still the rule?
Two hours remains the Canadian recreational-screen benchmark for ages 5–17. It is not an AAP universal rule for every child or teenager: from age 6, AAP calls for an individualized Family Media Plan that protects sleep, physical activity, school, relationships and offline time. A child who meets the benchmark but sleeps poorly still needs a change; a teen who occasionally exceeds it for a school project or family video call has not automatically violated a health rule. Judge the complete routine and the role the screen plays in it.
The bottom line for a healthy limit
Use age-based guidance as a starting boundary, then test whether screens fit around the essentials. For young children, delay routine media, co-view and keep programming high quality. For school-age children and teens, combine the Canadian recreational benchmark with daily activity and sufficient sleep, while using an AAP family plan to account for individual needs. For adults, count recreational use separately from necessary screen work and protect movement, sleep and social connection. The healthiest amount is the amount that does not crowd out those foundations.
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