- First-ever guidance on screen use for under-fives to offer
parents practical support on balancing screens with play,
speaking and reading.
- Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and
Professor Russell Viner to lead parent and expert engagement
ahead of guidance publication this April.
- Follows new worrying research showing that two-year-olds with
the highest screen use have weaker language development than
those with lower screen use, and comes ahead of the National Year
of Reading launch on 13 January.
Families will feel more confident navigating screen time with
their youngest children with expert-led work now underway to
develop the first-ever government guidance on screen use for
under-fives.
Parents themselves are calling for clearer support. Polling from
Kindred² shows that 40% of parents say reducing screen time would
help ensure their child is ready for Reception, underlining the
demand for practical, trusted guidance in the early years.
The guidance, due to be published in April, will provide
practical, non-judgemental tips for parents on how screen use can
sit alongside activities that support children's early
development including talking, playing and reading together. With
screens now embedded in adult daily life, many parents are
reflecting on how their own screen habits shape the choices they
make for their children.
The panel will be led by the Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel
de Souza and Russell Viner, former Chief Scientific Adviser to
the Department for Education and Professor of Child and
Adolescent Health at UCL, and will draw on the latest evidence
and input from parents.
The decision to develop the guidance is underpinned by new
government research showing links between high screen use and
poorer language development for two-year-olds, including:
- Children with the highest screen use (around five hours a
day) could say significantly fewer words than those with the
lowest screen use (around 44 minutes a day)
- Screen use is near-universal in early childhood, with 98% of
two-year-olds watching screens daily
- At age two, 77% of children in the highest-income families
are read to daily, compared with 32% in the lowest-income
families
Education Secretary said:
“Screens are part of family life now. The question parents
are asking isn't whether to use them, but how to use them
well.
“We know from the evidence and from what parents and teachers
are telling us that too much passive screen time can start to
crowd out the talking, play and reading that are so important for
children's language and development in the early years.
“That's why this guidance will be shaped by parents, and sit
alongside Best Start Family Hubs rolling out in every local area
– helping ensure our youngest children get the best start in life
and can seize the opportunities ahead.”
Felicity Gillespie, Director, Kindred Squared, said: “Clear,
evidence-based guidance for parents on screentime is overdue and
very welcome. Research suggests just one in four adults
recognises the crucial importance of our children's first five
years to lifelong health and happiness, and yet many parents know
that managing their own and their children's screentime is
important. We must increase public understanding of how screens
and devices can interfere with the way babies and toddlers learn
best, which is by looking at facial expressions, chatting,
singing and play.”
Engagement sessions with parents, children, early years
practitioners and stakeholders will take place across England,
allowing participants to share what works in real family life and
what support they need from the guidance.
The move comes ahead of the 13 January launch of the National
Year of Reading's “Go All In” campaign, with the new guidance
designed to support families to make space for reading, talk and
play in the early years, helping lay the foundations for a
lifelong love of reading.
ENDS
Notes to editors
