Canada’s screen time guide stresses quality instead of quantity – CBC

Guidance stresses 4 principles — minimizing, mitigating, mindful usage and modelling healthy use of screens

Nov 24, 2022

The Canadian Paediatric Society has ditched a hard-and-fast time limit for screen use among toddlers and preschoolers, encouraging instead that parents prioritize educational, interactive and age-appropriate material.

New guidance released Thursday still urges no screens at all for kids younger than age two, except to video-chat with others, such as grandparents.

But a previous recommendation that set a firm cap of one hour per day for two- to five-year-olds has been relaxed to allow for interactive and engaging forms of screen use such as educational programs and family movie nights, says Calgary pediatrician Dr. Janice Heard, a member of the group’s digital health task force.

She says parents would do better to focus on reducing passive screen use, co-viewing with kids and modelling desired behaviour.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/screen-time-cps-1.6662929