Ignore this 'blanket rule' most parents use, says psychologist: It's 'more destructive than helpful'

Dr. Claire Christensen is a psychologist and children’s media researcher for SRI International.

Excessive screen time for kids is a major concern for most parents.

But not all screen time is inherently bad — and there’s a way to tell the difference between “good” screen time and the sort that can obstruct your kids’ development, says children’s media researcher Dr. Claire Christensen.

“The cultural narrative that cutting back on screen time, just as a blanket rule, is always better for kids is more destructive than helpful,” Christensen, a psychologist and researcher at Menlo Park, California-based nonprofit SRI International, tells CNBC Make It.

Some health organizations advise placing strict limits on your children’s screen time — recommending less than an hour per day for children between 2 and 5, for example. But watching high-quality, educational content is good for your kids’ development — teaching them important skills and emotional intelligence that can eventually help them develop into successful adults.

It can also provide overworked parents free time for household chores, work emails or even just a few minutes of relaxation, says Christensen.

Her message to parents: There’s no “hard and fast rule” when it comes to a set amount of screen time for your children — as long as you’re intentional about the media they’re consuming.

What is ‘good’ screen time?

Christensen describes “good screen time” as content that’s “giving your child something to think about and socialize about” — or even inspiring play, from TV shows to YouTube videos.

Educational content tops Christensen’s list of high-quality content, she says: “We’re looking for videos that are intended to teach.” In 2021, she led an SRI study that found first-grade students learned “literacy and math skills” and improved their problem-solving abilities after watching educational PBS Kids content, specifically the series “Molly of Denali,” for just an hour a day over nine weeks.

Many online videos focus on less enriching content while squeezing in a dash of educational value — like “unboxing” videos, says Christensen. Try steering children toward content “where the learning is part of the story or the main idea,” she adds.

It also helps when the content encourages kids to participate, like characters asking questions for your children to answer out loud.

“I know it can be annoying to hear Dora asking your kid ‘What color is this?’ or ‘What do you think?'” Christensen says. “But we love that. As a researcher, we want to see anything that either is having kids talk back to the show or giving kids suggestions of other things they could do related to the show. Like, ‘After this, try sorting your own blocks.'”

Non-educational content can still be useful when it encourages social interaction and creative play, which can aid your child’s cognitive and emotional development, she adds.

“It’s screen time that is in some way connecting them to people, or the world around them … even if it’s not an explicitly educational show,” says Christensen.

How parents can reframe their approach to kids’ screen time

Once parents accept that screen time can be an effective tool for raising their kids, and identify positive content, Christensen says these tips can help them rethink their approach to screen time:

Release the guilt

Letting your child enjoy and benefit from their favorite educational show isn’t something to necessarily feel bad about. “If we’re walking around with a belief that ‘I am only a good parent if my kid gets 10 minutes of screen time a week,’ then we’re not going to be able to think proactively,” Christensen says.

Be proactive

On the one hand, you don’t need to stress over specific time limits, says Christensen. On the other hand, you probably don’t want your kids watching TV or a tablet all day, especially at the expense of other necessary activities.

You can find a healthy middle ground by creating a media-watching routine. Figure out what you want them to watch ahead of time, so you can stick to specific shows and videos without scrambling for something to watch at the last minute.

“If we don’t plan ahead and have the tablet ready with the show that we like on it, suddenly our kid is on our phone watching goodness knows what on YouTube,” Christensen says. “So be prepared and be proactive.”

Ask open-ended questions

Kids do learn best when interacting with an adult, research shows. Watch with your kids when possible, and ask them “open-ended questions” about what they learned and what they like about the shows, Christensen recommends.

“Parents are their kids’ biggest learning tool,” she says. “[Kids] may not understand that what they’re learning on the screen is real learning they can use at school, or that applies in their home life. So helping them make that connection can really exponentiate their learning from digital media.”

Encourage kids’ connections to specific characters

Your child can better connect with high-quality content when they develop connections to specific characters, like Elmo on “Sesame Street,” Christensen says.

“Once your kid has a relationship with a character, that can be an invaluable tool for you in terms of teaching,” she says, adding: “They’re going to learn more from a character they have a strong, what we call a parasocial relationship — kind of like an imaginary friendship — with than they would from a character that’s unfamiliar to them.”

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