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Te Modern Family New Families & Family Health The great screen debate


Screen time is arguably the parenting challenge of a generation, but there are simple strategies that can help harness a greater sense of autonomy over their digital routines. Words: Liz Connor


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etween tablets in the classroom, after-school Minecraft sessions and endless rewatches of


KPop Demon Hunters, children are spending more time in front of screens than ever before. Research by University College London suggests that 98% of two-year-olds in the UK now use screens daily, and by the age of 12, almost all children own a mobile phone. For parents, supporting a child’s


mental wellbeing means gently encouraging their interests, being available to listen and support them with regular routines — but helping them set healthy boundaries with screens can be a lot more tricky.


How much is too much? From diminished focus and poorer self-confidence to rumbling anxiety and disrupted sleep, research has linked excessive screen time in young adults to several negative effects. But when it comes to children’s development, the evidence is far less clear-cut. Some researchers have observed


that children exposed to more than two-and-a-half hours of daily screen time in early childhood are more likely to experience difficulties with peer relationships by the age of eight,


SCREEN TIME/PEXELS


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while others suggest that intentional screen time can actually have the opposite effect, helping kids to forge stronger social connections. Currently, Te World Health


Organization (WHO) recommends children under two should get no screen time at all, and for those aged two to four, a maximum of one hour. But an increasing number of experts are beginning to believe that it’s not necessarily the amount of time kids spend on screens, but the kind of screen time that really matters. “Passive exposure to low- quality television is very different from active screen time, which involves engaging with high-quality, educational content,” says Dr Marc Tibber, lecturer in clinical psychology at UCL. “Especially when it’s watched alongside a parent or caregiver, and involves lots of healthy discussion, reflection and interaction.”


Striking the sweet spot Rather than a draconian outright ban, experts say a better balance lies in learning to swap hours of passive doomscrolling for shorter, more active sessions. “Tat often means sitting and taking an interest in what a child is doing on their device, whether that’s gaming together or doing homework,” says Dr Tibber. Tat doesn’t mean rules and


boundaries should take a total back seat. Simple limits, such as no screens in the evening or putting devices away at meal times, can keep so-called ‘brain rot’ consumption at bay. “Children need a varied diet with lots of different types of foods, and they need a variety of stimulation in the same way,” Dr Tibber notes. “Screens can form a healthy part of the mix,


but it’s important to ask whether they outweigh other activities, such as outdoor play or learning.” Te key, experts agree, is to replace


rather than simply restrict. “Screens usually meet a need, whether that’s stimulation, comfort or connection — so parents have to think carefully about what alternative activities can plug the gap,” explains AI ethics strategist Lena Chauhan, host of parenting podcast Hardwired: Te Human Algorithm. Parents are also their children’s


biggest influence, so if you’re setting screen limits for the whole household, setting some divorce rules with your inbox feels like a fair deal. “If you’re banning screens before bed but you’re constantly scrolling on your phone at home, it can send a confusing message,” says Dr Tibber. Lena explains that a healthy long-


term relationship with technology isn’t ‘screen-free’ per se, but rather ‘screen-wise’. “It’s [about raising] children who understand that attention is valuable, and can notice when tech is dysregulating them, and


SOURCES l


UK Parliament, The impact of smartphones and social media on children, 2024


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NIH, Benefits and harms of social media use, 2022


NIH, Longitudinal associations between screen time and children’s language, early educational skills and peer social functioning, 2025


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NIH, Health benefits of social media use in adolescents and young adults


Play without screens


Screens are everywhere, so when a kids’ toy comes along that doesn’t need one, it’s worth paying attention


Meet Qubitunes — a screen-free, in- teractive audio gaming toy and audio player for kids aged three and over. It’s designed for kids who like to move, listen, imagine and stay curious… and for parents who’d quite like a break from negotiating screen time. Getting started is refreshingly sim-


ple. Pop in a wooden game cartridge, place the chunky wooden blocks on the play stage and they make a sound. Move them and the sound changes. Add another block, shuffle things around, try something new — and the game reacts straight away. Clev- er RFID tech hidden inside the wood recognises every block and move- ment, creating thousands of sound combinations. No two plays ever sound the same. Each cartridge is a complete inter-


active game, not background noise. You play one game at a time — just like a board game — then switch when you’re ready for something new. Tere are six game categories — ed-


ucation, music, stories, playground, creator and gaming — with new games added regularly. Kids might be conducting a (slightly chaotic) or- chestra, meeting animals, tackling playful challenges or inventing their own stories. And those stories? Tey’re not read to kids — they’re shaped by them.


Less scrolling. More listening. Qubitunes is a screen-free, interactive audio toy that grows with your kids and lets them shape stories, sounds and play. qubs.toys


Available at Amazon and qubs.toys


Qubitunes fits easily into family life — energetic play in the morning, learning during the day, family games in the afternoon and stories at bedtime


Tere’s no fixed beginning or end- ing. Te characters kids choose, and where they place them, decide what happens next. Change the characters, and the story changes too. It’s story- telling with agency, imagination and zero passivity. Qubitunes grows with your kids,


working across different ages and interests. It fits easily into family life — energetic play in the morning, learning during the day, family games in the afternoon and stories at bed- time. It even works with headphones for quiet moments or travel. Tere’s no camera, no microphone


and no internet during play. Wi-fi is only used to update the play stage and download games. Made from respon- sibly sourced wood and built to last, Qubitunes is a more sustainable alter- native to plastic, screen-based toys. Qubitunes — sounds like fun, and it really is. Less scrolling. More listening.


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