Parents of school-aged children are likely aware of the impact of screens on modern youngsters. Screens are used extensively in many schools, and children also use devices while at home. In fact, a report on screen usage released by the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office in May 2026 indicated that pre-teen and teenaged children use screens an average of four or more hours per day.
Exposure and overexposure to screens can be detrimental to children. The United States Department of Health and Human Services notes that screen use in early life is linked to poorer language outcomes. In addition, excessive screen usage among school-aged children has been linked to poor educational and health outcomes. The DHHS also notes that screen usage among teenagers may be making them vulnerable to mental health and behavioral issues that can extend beyond adolescence and into adulthood.
Despite the dangers linked to excessive screen use, data from the DHHS indicates average daily screen use increases as kids age. Parents of children growing up in the digital era know keeping kids off screens is no small task. However, some simple strategies can help parents corral kids’ screen usage so it does not reach unhealthy and even harmful levels.
Utilize parental control features. Smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles typically feature parental control management tools that allow parents to set times limits on kids’ screen usage. Parents are urged to speak with their child’s pediatrician to identify a healthy daily screen usage limit. Once that limit is identified, parents can employ the built-in parental control functions on smartphones and tablets to ensure kids are not spending too much time on their devices.
Provide engaging alternatives. It’s crucial that parents provide reasonable alternatives to screens. In fact, the DHHS recommends parents delay screen time as long as possible. Alternatives to screens may include more frequent play dates with friends or activities that encourage kids to interact with parents and siblings. Board game nights, nightly walks after dinner and outdoor recreation in the backyard can incentivize kids to forgo their screens for fun activities that don’t involve devices.
Use your router to suspend internet access. It’s easy for parents to monitor their kids’ screen time while everyone is awake, but many kids now spend time they should be sleeping using their devices from bed. Kids may be chatting with friends, scrolling platforms like YouTube or scouring social media after bedtime. Parents may lament that there’s little they can do when kids are behind closed bedroom doors, but administrator functions on many routers enable users to temporarily suspend internet access. Parents can use this function, which turns wireless networks off at a given time, to reduce the risks that kids will spend time on the internet after bedtime.
