Most toddlers and preschoolers are spending significantly more time on tablets and TVs than health organizations recommend, with compliance rates dropping sharply as children age.
Almost nine in ten preschoolers spend more than an hour a day on screens
Eighty-four percent of children between the ages of two and five exceed the World Health Organization’s recommendation of a one-hour daily limit. While the guidelines suggest this age group should have restricted, high-quality media exposure, the reality in most households is that digital devices have become a much larger fixture of daily life than experts advise.
Infants and toddlers under two are missing the zero-screen target
Nearly half of children under the age of two are using screens despite global medical recommendations that they should have no digital media exposure at all. Forty-three percent of these very young children are already being introduced to screens, missing a critical window for screen-free sensory and motor development during their most formative years.
Weekend routines drive the highest rates of excessive screen use
Children are significantly more likely to exceed recommended time limits on Saturdays and Sundays than they are during the school week. The lack of structured weekday schedules often leads to "screen creep," where devices are used more frequently to fill gaps in time or provide parental relief, making the weekend the primary battleground for managing a child’s total digital intake.
What this means for your family
- Hold the line on the "under two" rule. Since nearly half of infants are already using screens, keeping your home screen-free for the first 24 months provides your child with a developmental environment that is increasingly rare but highly recommended.
- Audit your weekend habits first. If your child’s screen use is manageable on Tuesday but explodes on Saturday, focus on replacing one morning cartoon block with an outdoor or sensory activity to bring the weekly average down.
- Treat the one-hour limit as a hard ceiling for preschoolers. For children aged two to five, the goal is to ensure screen time doesn't displace the physical activity and sleep required for healthy growth.
- Recognize that "normal" isn't necessarily "healthy." Because the vast majority of families are technically non-compliant with these guidelines, you may feel social pressure to allow more screen time; sticking to the limits requires going against the current grain.
Honest caveats
The data relies on parent-reported estimates, which are frequently subject to recall bias or the tendency to underreport usage to appear more "compliant" with health standards. This was a cross-sectional study, meaning it provides a snapshot of habits at one point in time rather than proving that this screen use caused specific health problems later. Additionally, the sample was specific to families in Spain, and while these trends are visible across the West, cultural and childcare differences in other countries could lead to different compliance rates.
Where this comes from
Cabriada-Sáez Í, González-Marrón A, Lidón-Moyano C et al. (2026). Estimation of the non-compliance with the recommendations of screen time in a sample of Spanish children up to 5 years: a cross-sectional study. Journal of public health policy. doi:10.1057/s41271-026-00636-7 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42156887/