Step 1: Have a conversation with your child about screen time
After you’ve reviewed screen time guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and thought about what makes sense for your family, the next step is to talk with your child. These conversations often work best as an ongoing dialogue that grows with them, not a one-time set of rules.
Start a conversation with your child
For younger children, watch and play together so you understand their perspective, and set simple, shared agreements. These might include screen-free times like meals and the hour before bed, and screen-free zones like bedrooms. Explain the reasons for the boundaries you set. Sleep, movement, and offline play matter for a growing body and mind. And you can adjust Screen Time settings on their Apple device to help support the boundaries you discuss.
As your child gets older, you’ll probably want to shift from managing screen time for them to helping them manage it themselves—so by the time they’re an adult, they’ve already built healthy habits. Let the conversation move from how long they’re on a device to what they’re actually doing. Stay curious rather than accusatory.
On its website, the AAP offers conversation starters you can adapt, like:
“Can we talk about how our family should set boundaries for using technology? Let’s work on this together because I want to include you in these decisions.”
“Are there times of the day that you think we should not use devices or phones? One example may be during family dinner.”
“Are there times that are important to you for me to be present and not on a device or phone?”
For additional suggestions, see Conversation Starters for Families About Media from the AAP.
Help your child build digital literacy
As you have conversations with your child around screen time, you can help them build digital literacy—knowing how to use technology safely and thoughtfully. You can help your child understand what to share, who to trust, and how to treat people online. You can point out examples of misinformation you come across, question what influencers and ads are selling, and talk about apps that can be hard to stop using. Keeping the conversation two-sided also makes room for harder topics like cyberbullying and privacy, so your child knows they can come to you about anything.
For more information, see Helping Kids Thrive in a Digital World: AAP Policy Explained from the AAP.