My kids have 8 hours of screen time a day — it does them no harm

Britt believes she’s doing the best for her children (Picture: Britt Jones)

We’ve long been told that too much screen time is bad for children.

In March, the Government issued new guidelines, recommending that youngsters aged two to five should watch no more than one hour of TV per day. It came after research found that 98% of two-years-olds watched screens daily.

But, not all parents believe having strict rules is a good thing. Mum-of-two, Britt Jones, 29, allows her six and four-year-old to have unlimited screen time.

They are given iPads, which they’re free to scroll through, often while also watching TV. They even take their screens with them when they’re outside playing.

But, refusing to be mum shamed, Britt believes she’s doing the best thing for her children and their wellbeing.

‘Essentially, as soon as they wake up and want to watch something on TV, it goes on,’ she tells Metro.

Britt says her kids are allowed to watch TV as soon as they wake up (Picture: Britt Jones)

‘They may want their tablets on as they eat dinner, and then, after being at school without screens for the day, they come home and usually go straight on their tablets, turn the TV on, or go on the computer.’

Britt says her children are probably getting around eight times the Government recommended amount of screen time.

‘The new screen time guidance doesn’t impact my parenting at all,’ she says. ‘You can do your best to follow guidance, but it’s always changing. For us, this is what works.

‘On a school day they’ll watch around four hours of screen time, and at weekends it’s more like eight,’ she says.

It’s not just the UK Government that warns against too much screen time. There’s a wealth of research and experts cautioning parentings, too.

A landmark 2026 study, conducted by four UK universities, known as the Action on Digital Device Immersive Conditions Team, found that screen time for babies and toddlers carries ‘significant risks’, including limited language development, difficulty sleeping and reduced opportunities to bond with caregivers.

In the longer term, Professor Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University, wrote the bestselling book, The Anxious Generation, an urgent warning about the effect of tech on children. He argues that ‘phone-based childhood’ has caused a sharp rise in youth mental illness.

Britt says unlimited screens are what works for her family (Picture: Getty Images)

And, a 2019 King’s College London study found that nearly 25% of children and young people use their smartphones in a way that is consistent with a behavioural addiction, including feeling panicky or upset when the phone is unavailable, or finding it difficult to control the amount of time spent on it.

But Britt isn’t concerned. ‘I honestly don’t think there’s any harm in it,’ she says. ‘A lot of what our children watch teaches them things about life, routines – be it bath time or animals in the zoo – so we feel it benefits them.

‘And, before they go to school in the morning, they watch a video of a character who shows them dance moves, so they have a daily dance party.

‘They also bond with other kids over their shared interests on TV.’

Allowing so much screen time in a society that’s against it could cause judgement, but Britt says that actually, people who know about her parenting ethos are generally supportive.

‘Because our children are very high-energy and spend a lot of time doing physical activities, like sports and playing, friends and family do understand that they need stimulation other forms too,’ she says.

‘My husband I were raised as TV kids, and spent a lot of our childhoods watching TV shows and films. Our friends were raised in the same way, so I think it’s understood to be the way some people approach their life. We’ve always been a “TV on in the background” home.’

Although she allows her kids to watch screens as and when they want, Britt says that she will monitor what their viewing.

‘On the television, it ranges from Ms Rachel’s Learn to Talk videos, to Bing, Blippi, Talking Hands sign language, Oxbridge Baby makaton and Mr Tumble.

‘They have tablets designed for kids, and my husband and I curated their algorithms on YouTube Kids, which is very well safeguarded against adult content.

‘They have free rein to pick and choose what they watch. They have their tablets and they can scroll through to find things they want to watch themselves.

‘They play things like Numberlocks, Alphablocks, a lot of animal games, puzzles, spelling and more.

Britt says her kids learn important lessons from the shows they watch (Picture: Britt Jones)

‘If we hear anything that sounds odd, we do turn it off,’ she says.

Britt says that the TV is also an ideal way to keep her children entertained, given that she and her husband work, and can’t always give them undivided attention.

‘This is especially true when they have such a long time off over the summer. We both work so we can’t teach them 1:1 as a teacher could in a classroom. This is a pretty good alternative.’

When it comes to other children from school coming over to Britts’ house for playdates, she insists parents aren’t concerned about the screen time in their home.

‘I’ve found that most of their friends are parented in the same way, and have lots of screen time too.

‘I do know a few friends who are staunch about not having TV on in the house.

‘But I’ve just nodded and smiled when they say so, and they do the same when I talk about screens.’

Britts children are also allowed to ‘double screen’: ‘They’ll have a film on and be playing a game on their tablets at the same time,’ she says.

‘They’ll always check in on the movie to see what’s happening, and because we typically stick to the classics (Nemo, Monsters Inc, and so on), they’ve seen them dozens of times.’

She admits she does ‘sometimes worry about the kids’ attentions spans when they’re using multiple screens’ but adds: ‘Think the amount of sensory elements this provides outweighs the cons.

‘They even take their tablets outside to aid their play.

‘For example, my son will watch play doh videos while playing with play doh. He’ll also watch toy fruit videos as he plays with his own.’

With the new school term approaching, and the new guidance in place, many parents may be winding down screen time, to get their kids back into routine — but not Britt.

‘At school they spend all day doing physical activities, mental maths and socialisation, so it’s only natural they want to come home, isolate themselves in their rooms for some time, and watch something that is tailored to their interests,’ she says.

‘I think kids need downtime, and I’m fine with that being on a screen.’

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