As new DfE research is published into home learning and screen time, the Government announces it will be sharing official guidance with parents.
The UK Government has announced it will publish its first screen time guidance for under 5s in April 2026. The guidance will offer official advice to parents on the amount of screen time their under 5s should be having and why. The terms of reference for this work will be published next week. The national working group is led by Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, and DfE Scientific adviser, Professor Russell Viner. They will be speaking with parents, children and early years parents to help formulate the guidance.
This announcement comes as their new research, Children of the 2020s: home learning environment and screen time at age 2 was published. Some significant findings from this research are as follows.
- 98% of two-year olds were watching screens on a daily basis (TV, videos or other digital content).
- 34% of children met the WHO standard for 2-4 year olds of more than an hour a day of sedentary (somewhat inactive) screen time.
- The average viewing was 127 minutes a day.
- 26% of primary caregivers said they mostly watched with their child during screen time, 46% sometimes watched with their child and 26% said they mostly did something else.
- 19% of 2-yearolds play video games and for an average of 140 minutes per day.
- Children from lower income families had nearly double the screentime of those from higher income families.
- Likewise children with a primary caregiver of the lowest education levels had nearly twice the screen time than those with the highest education levels.
- Average screen time also varied among ethnicities with children with: Black primary caregivers having an average of 213 minutes of screen time, Asian primary caregivers – 156 minutes of average screen time, mixed and other ethnicity primary caregivers – 174 minutes or screentime, and white primary caregivers-131 minutes.
- Children whose primary caregivers had symptoms of depression had higher screentime (182 minutes average) than those without (135 minutes average).
As reading was the most frequently reported home learning activity, the research also includes some valuable statistics on this, such as 56% of parents saying reading/looking at books was a ‘daily activity’.
Why is limiting screen time so important?
Higher screen time has been associated with lower vocabulary development and emotional and behavioural problems. In the DfE’s research, it explains that ‘39% of children in the highest screen time quintile (average 5+ hours/day) had scores indicative of possible emotional and behavioural problems, compared to 17% in the lowest screen time quintile’ and that ‘Children in the highest screen time quintile (averaging at around 5 hours per day) could say, on average, 53% of the 34 test words, compared to 65% for children in the lowest quintile of screen time (with an average of 44 mins per day, which meets the maximum 1 hour threshold recommended by the World Health Organization for children aged 2 to 4).’
Charitable foundation, Kindred Squared, conducted a poll that found ‘40% of parents think reducing screentime would help ensure their child is ready for reception’. Showing that parents agree that reducing screentime is in their child’s best interests. Felicity Gillespie, their director, shared that ‘evidence-based screen time for parents was overdue and very welcome’ and Neil Leitch from the Early Years Alliance ‘broadly welcomed the plans but explained it should sit within a much wider framework for families and educators for digital literacy and online safety.’
“Screens are part of family life now. The question parents are asking isn’t whether to use them, but how to use them well.” – Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson.
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Reference
- McArthur T. (2026) ‘High screen time limits vocabulary in toddlers, research finds’. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c041e9xn3leo (Accessed 12 January 2026)
- DfE (2026) ‘Children of the 2020s: home learning environment and screen time at age 2, Research brief’. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/695fc42241ddb40d13f76527/COT2020s_-_home_learning_environment_and_screen_time_at_age_2_-_research_brief.pdf (Accessed 12 January 2026)
