UK guidance on toddlers’ screens

England’s new advice for parents says children under 2 should avoid screen time except for shared activities, and 2- to 5-year-olds should aim for no more than one hour a day. (gov.uk) The guidance was published on March 27 by the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care, and it applies in England. It was informed by the Early Years Screen Time Advisory Group, co-chaired by Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and University College London professor Russell Viner. (gov.uk) The parent-facing advice says to keep screens out of mealtimes and the hour before bed for 2- to 5-year-olds. It also says children under 2 should only use screens for shared, interactive activities that involve bonding, conversation or play. (gov.uk) The same advice favors slow-paced, age-appropriate programs over fast, social media-style videos. It also recommends “co-viewing” — adults watching with children, talking and asking questions — because the government says evidence links that to better cognitive development than watching alone. (gov.uk) The government says it issued the guidance after more than 1,000 parents asked for practical help on screen use. Its Education Hub said 98% of two-year-olds watch screens daily, which officials used to argue that avoidance is often unrealistic and management matters more. (gov.uk) The official report behind the advice stops short of calling itself guidance and instead reviews evidence on how screens can affect children under 5. It says screen use should “complement” rather than replace face-to-face interaction, play and exploration, and that responsive adult-child interaction remains central to healthy development. (gov.uk) University of East London professor Sam Wass, who helped shape the guidance, said young children process sights and sounds differently from adults and that early media experiences can affect attention, learning and emotional wellbeing. The university’s March 2025 announcement also said Wass had won Leverhulme Trust funding to study whether fast-paced screen media is too rapid for young brains. (uel.ac.uk 1) (uel.ac.uk 2) The guidance includes one explicit carveout: it says screen-time limits should not be applied in the same way to screen-based assistive technology for children with special educational needs and disabilities. That exception is part of the government’s effort to frame the advice as practical rather than absolute. (gov.uk) The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health backed the move on March 27. Its vice president for policy, Dr Mike McKean, said the advice gives parents a resource to help protect “those short, but developmentally crucial early years.” (rcpch.ac.uk) The result is not a legal ban or a clinical rulebook. It is England’s first government-backed playbook for parents of under-5s trying to decide when screens help, when they displace sleep and play, and when an adult needs to be sitting beside the child. (gov.uk)