Screens and a Family Media Plan

A useful media plan describes what your child watches, when it fits into the day and what happens when viewing ends. Begin with one difficult moment, such as stopping a video or protecting bedtime, rather than creating a long list of rules you cannot maintain.

Young children need time for play, movement, sleep and conversation. Media choices should leave room for those experiences and fit your child's stage of development. A single time limit does not answer questions about content, context or a child's response.

Age matters. AAP's current 5 C's approach considers the child, content, ways of calming, activities crowded out and communication. The Academy provides separate guidance for infants and toddlers and preschoolers. Use the guidance for your child's age instead of applying an older child's rules to a baby.

Notice how your child responds. Is it hard to stop? Does the content frighten them? Are they asking about something they saw? Those observations help you decide what to change.

4 minute read

A family spending time together in a park.

Choose the content before viewing starts

Preview a program or app and consider whether the child can understand it. Look for advertising, purchasing prompts, frightening material and features that keep new videos starting. “Educational” in a product description is not enough to establish suitability.

AAP's Family Media Plan guidance recommends selecting suitable content, disabling autoplay and reviewing settings. Parental controls are useful tools, but they do not replace knowing what your child is using.

Watch together when you can. A short comment about a character's feeling or an event can connect the screen experience with conversation. You do not have to turn viewing into a lesson after every scene.

Decide how viewing ends

Explain the ending before the device is handed over: “We will watch this episode. After it ends, we are putting the tablet away and getting ready for dinner.” Choose an ending that the child can recognize, and avoid autoplay undermining the agreement.

Illustrative example: A preschooler wants another video when the chosen one finishes. The caregiver says, “You want to keep watching. This was our last one today. You can carry the napkins or choose your seat for dinner.” The feeling is acknowledged, the limit remains and the next activity is concrete.

If stopping is difficult every time, examine the arrangement when calm. The time of day, the type of content or an abrupt transition might be contributing. Repeating a rule more loudly is not the only possible adjustment.

Make room for other ways to settle

For toddlers and preschoolers, AAP encourages learning ways to calm without a device becoming the response to every upset. Try comfort, a quiet activity or movement appropriate to the situation. A child may still be unhappy; another coping option is a skill to practice, not a guarantee of immediate calm.

Illustrative example: During a wait, a caregiver brings a familiar picture book and offers a simple looking game. On another day, the family chooses a short program for a long journey. The aim is a range of options rather than judging the caregiver by one difficult afternoon.

Use toddler feelings and bedtime routines for those specific situations. A media plan works best when it fits the rest of the child's day.

Include adults and other caregivers

Choose one adult habit to make clearer: putting the phone aside for a shared meal, silencing notifications during reading or explaining when you must answer a work call. A child can understand a specific explanation better than an adult silently switching attention away.

Share the arrangement with other caregivers. Record permitted content, the agreed ending and relevant purchase or privacy settings. Avoid giving a child responsibility for negotiating different adult rules.

The AAP Family Media Plan offers an official tool you can use. Review your first arrangement after trying it: keep what is workable, change the difficulty you observed and return to age-specific guidance as your child grows.