Media use for children:
A guide for parents 

Brain development
To develop optimally, the world must be explored with all the senses.  

Effects of digital media 
When looking at a screen, children often remain in one position. There is a lack of interaction with people and the physical environment. Their senses of hearing and sight are engaged and developed, but the other senses are barely stimulated.  

Brain development 
The brain does not yet actively distinguish between reality and fiction. 

Effects of digital media 
Children perceive images in videos and games as real.  

Brain development 
To find their place within a community, the brain now needs comparisons, competition and challenges.   

Effects of digital media 
Many games and apps deliberately target the reward centre in the human brain with their mechanisms. Children immerse themselves in a digital world that feels good but is also competitive. If they are torn away from this world, it can be very frustrating for them.   

Brain development 
The frontal cortex is not yet fully developed. This makes self-control, emotional regulation and risk assessment still difficult. 

Effects of digital media 
A common consequence is reacting impulsively. Resisting the temptations and mechanisms of the digital world is therefore significantly more difficult for young people than for adults.  

Screens emit blue light, which inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. The brain ‘thinks’ it is still daytime. The result: your child falls asleep later, sleeps more restlessly and is more tired the next day. In the long term, this affects their concentration at school.

What you can do:

• Screen-free zone in the evening: No screens for at least 1 hour before bedtime. Better still: 2 hours. 
• No smartphones in the bedroom: Use a traditional alarm clock instead of your mobile phone’s alarm. This applies to the whole family, including you – set a good example. 
• Activate night mode: Newer devices offer a ‘Night Shift’ or blue light filter. This reduces the amount of blue light and suppresses less melatonin.  
• Switch off Wi-Fi at night: The Swisscom Internet Box allows you to automatically deactivate Wi-Fi at a set time. 
• Introduce bedtime rituals: Bedtime rituals don’t have to involve a screen. Reading aloud, listening to an audiobook or music helps your child wind down without a screen. 

The brains of young children develop more rapidly in the first three years of life than at any other time. During this phase, they need one thing above all else: real sensory experiences. We have already discussed this above. While screens do provide stimuli, they do so in a form that the brain does not have to actively process. It consumes rather than learns.   

Research shows that children who are regularly exposed to screen media without supervision in their early years are more likely to develop difficulties with attention and concentration. The brain becomes accustomed to rapid image changes and constant stimulation. It then becomes harder to focus on a quiet activity such as listening, reading or a school task. 

What you can do:
For children under 3 years of age, the WHO recommendation applies: as little screen time as possible. From nursery age onwards, supervised, limited use is fine. The key is that screen time complements other activities rather than replacing them.

The digital world can intensify anxieties that are a natural part of growing up. Three mechanisms play a role here:

1. The fear of missing out: In technical terms, this is known as ‘FOMO’ (Fear of Missing Out). Your child sees what others are getting up to on social media and feels left out. This fear is ever-present and prevents children (especially teenagers, who are already prone to comparing themselves with others) from finding emotional peace.
2. Disturbing content without context: Adults can make sense of news about war, violence and disasters. Children often cannot yet. If they come across this content on their own, it can trigger fears they cannot put into words.
3. Cyberbullying and exclusion: What used to happen in the playground and stop when school finished now continues online. Constant availability means there is no longer a safe place to retreat to. 

Mental health issues among young people have increased in recent years. According to the Swiss Centre for Health Promotion(opens in new tab) (Gesundheitsförderung Schweiz), this trend began even before the pandemic and has intensified since then. Anxiety disorders and depression are now among the most common mental health conditions affecting young people, with girls being particularly affected. Social media is not the sole cause, but it can exacerbate existing stress. This does not mean that every child who uses social media will develop mental health problems. But it underlines how important it is to be attentive and to keep the lines of communication open. 

What you can do:
Talk openly with your child about what they see and experience online. Children who know they can come to you with their fears are better able to process stressful experiences. If fears persist and are affecting daily life, a professional is the right person to turn to. 

Children do not learn language from a screen. They learn it when someone speaks to them, listens to them, responds to their sounds and maintains eye contact. This back-and-forth interaction between two people is the driving force behind language development. 

When a screen regularly stands between parent and child, it is precisely these moments that are lost. The child hears words, but receives no reaction to their own. Early intervention specialists have for years observed an increase in language development delays among pre-school children. Epidemiological studies from various countries support this finding. 

This doesn’t just affect language: the ability to read facial expressions, recognise emotions in others and respond to them also develops through direct contact with people.

What you can do:
Make a conscious effort to put your mobile phone away when you’re interacting with your child. Every moment of genuine attention counts, especially in the early years. Reading aloud, singing together or cooking together: all of these activities promote language development more than any learning app. 

Those who are in front of a screen move little or not at all. A lack of exercise is therefore also linked to screen time: the more screen time, the less exercise is possible. This link is well documented: children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a screen have an increased risk of being overweight. On top of that, children often eat whilst in front of the screen, without consciously realising when they are full. And the eyes suffer too: prolonged close-up work at a screen promotes short-sightedness. Ophthalmologists are observing this trend worldwide.

What you can do:
The simplest rule is: exercise first, then screen time. For example, half an hour of playing outside before the tablet is allowed. And for the eyes, the 20-20-20 rule helps: after 20 minutes of screen time, look into the distance for 20 seconds (at least 20 metres away). This relaxes the eye muscles.

Recommended parental controls 
Separate child profile on streaming services such as YouTube Kids, enable age ratings, no separate devices for children  

Recommended parental controls 
Entry-level devices such as smartwatches for children, set up content filters and time limits, app downloads only with parental approval, disable in-app purchases 

Recommended parental controls  
Gradually relax parental controls, discuss screen time statistics together, set up Focus Mode for school hours   

Recommended parental controls  
Set up privacy settings on social media together, reduce technical monitoring by parents, but increase open communication, and maintain night-time restrictions 

Take a look at your own screen time: how much is it? You might be surprised. If you set screen time limits for your child, it helps to know your own figures so you can compare them. This way, you can also change your own habits if necessary to be a better role model. 

You don’t need to know every TikTok format. But you should understand what an algorithm is and why it shows your child more and more of the same. That ‘likes’ are a reward system. And that ‘free’ usually means: your child is paying with their attention and data. 

Being able to configure the most important security settings on your child’s mobile phone is one of the basics. This mainly concerns: location sharing, profile visibility, contact requests from strangers and in-app purchases. You’ll find step-by-step instructions in the ‘Setting up parental controls’ section.

The most important skill isn’t a technical one. It’s the ability to talk to your child about their digital world without them shutting you out. You’ll succeed if you show interest rather than trying to control them. “Show me what you’re looking at” works better than “Give me your phone”. And when your child explains something to you, listen. 

The 2021 MIKE study (ZHAW) shows that just under half of the primary school children surveyed had seen content that was unsuitable for their age or that frightened them . Age ratings such as PEGI for games and FSK for films are a guide, but nothing more. If in doubt, take a quick look at the content yourself before allowing access. Portals such as ‘Flimmo’ or ‘Internet-ABC’ can help you assess it. On Blue TV, you can also activate the parental control PIN, which blocks content that is not age-appropriate. 

Being media-literate doesn’t mean you have to know everything yourself. You can find plenty of information here on the Swisscom Campus. In addition, these resources can help: Pro Juventute (147), Youth and Media (jugendundmedien.ch), school social workers or your paediatrician.