General information only. This resource summarizes WHO public-health recommendations for sedentary screen time in children under 5 years of age.

What does WHO mean by sedentary screen time?

WHO’s guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep use sedentary screen time to describe screen-based activities such as watching television or videos and playing computer games while sedentary.

What does WHO recommend for infants under 1 year?

For infants younger than 1 year, WHO says sedentary screen time is not recommended. When an infant is sedentary, WHO encourages activities such as reading and storytelling with a caregiver.

What does WHO recommend for 1-year-olds?

For children aged 1 year, WHO says sedentary screen time is not recommended. WHO also advises that children aged 1–2 years should not be restrained for more than 1 hour at a time or sit for extended periods.

What does WHO recommend for 2-year-olds?

For children aged 2 years, WHO recommends no more than 1 hour of sedentary screen time per day and states that less is better.

What does WHO recommend for children aged 3–4 years?

For children aged 3–4 years, WHO recommends no more than 1 hour of sedentary screen time per day and again states that less is better.

What does WHO suggest during quiet sedentary time?

Across these young age groups, WHO encourages non-screen sedentary interaction such as reading and storytelling with a caregiver.

These are age-group public-health recommendations. They do not diagnose developmental, behavioural or sleep problems and do not determine what an individual child requires.

Related ChildSpecialist.in information

For a separate explanation of how CDC distinguishes milestones, monitoring and formal screening, see developmental monitoring vs developmental screening.

References

  1. World Health Organization. Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age.