Toddlers and under-fives are naturally drawn to electronic screens. From TVs and game consoles to tablets and smartphones, these amazingly powerful, colourful devices hold such wonder! After all, they’re rather magical to young minds and can entertain and captivate children in so many ways. However, there have been loud voices of concern lately over how potentially detrimental watching electronic screens may be for our little ones. Indeed, the UK Government has recently published new guidance around the topic, which we’ll explore in today’s post.
There are, of course, pros and cons to children watching electronic screens and a few examples spring to mind:
- Without proper safety measures and oversight in place, screens may lead children to unsafe places, whether on TV, tablets, or smartphones.
- What’s more, many parents also want to keep little ones away from social media as long as possible to keep them safe.
- Other parents, however, like children to have mobiles as a way to track them, for safety purposes, when not in their direct care. This is also understandable.
- The use of electronic screens can also be helpful for children with SEND (special educational needs or disabilities). For example, they may benefit from screen-based assistive technology, an invaluable tool that may help with communication, mobility, and so on.
- Children are naturally captivated by brightly-coloured, moving screen images and stimulating audio. They can therefore be invaluable as a distraction tool when a parent simply needs a few minutes’ peace.
- Older children may not want to miss out on chats, social media, and all the online goings-on that their friends and peers may be up to. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is real for kids. That said, it’s less likely to affect under-fives, who usually have far less, if any, access to it.
- And, to quote the findings of a recent report by Government advisors:
“Some evidence has linked large amounts of screen time with negative effects on children’s health and development, including on social, emotional, language and brain development, sleep, eyesight and healthy weight.” — Findings from the EYSTAG Report
Now, the UK Government has become proactively involved and has made a series of official recommendations. So, let’s take a look today at some recent new guidance for smartphone use by children that was issued in March 2026 by the Government.
What is the New Government Guidance for Screen Time for Children Under Five?
“We’ve created this evidence‑informed guidance to support parents and carers in shaping healthy screen time habits for little brains.” — Gov.uk
In March 2026, the UK Government issued the following recommendations* for electronic screen use by children under five:
- Parents and carers should proactively “Limit total screen time for young children, wherever possible”, they say.
- For children under 2, they recommend that screen time be avoided completely, except where it’s part of a shared family activity that encourages conversations, interactions, and closer bonding. Examples given include activities like viewing photograph albums together, group family/friends video calls, or reading e-books together.
- For children between 2 and 5, they recommend that children should spend no more than 1 hour per day viewing electronic screens — ideally less, and in short chunks of no more than 30 minutes at a time that’s not close to bedtimes or mealtimes. Solo viewing should be minimal.
Such guidelines may not apply to children with SEND, who often use screen-based assistive technologies to help improve quality of life, for example, facilitating enhanced communication with others, mobility, etc. Such children will therefore require a more tailored approach, and parents/carers will need to balance both the potential risks and benefits of screen use for such children.
* (Source)
“Screen use becomes particularly problematic when it crowds out sleep, physical activity, parent-child interaction, creative play, household routines, real-world exploration or learning.” — EYSTAG Report
What is the New Guidance Based On?
The Government guidance for under-fives follows findings and recommendations made by the independent Early Years Screen Time Advisory Group (EYSTAG), whose full report is available here. They took into account the views of a wide range of stakeholders, including parents, early years professionals, and children themselves, as well as findings from the latest research around the topic. The new Government guidance is therefore evidence-based. It also spans all kinds of screen use for under-fives, including TVs, mobiles/smartphones, tablets and computers.
“The new Government guidance is evidence-based.”
What Else Does the EYSTAG Report Recommend for Families with Children Under Five?
As well as the key recommendations, the EYSTAG report made the following additional recommendations for parents/carers of under-fives, suggesting they should:
- Interact when the child is using an electronic screen. Ask questions, comment on what’s happening there, and so on, just like you might if you were reading a book to them.
- Ensure that children’s use of screens is balanced with activities that are inherently more healthy, for example, creative play, interactions with family and friends, and so on.
- Ensure that little ones achieve the appropriate amount of sleep each night. They cite the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s recommendations of a minimum of 11-14 hours for children aged 1 to 2, and 10 to 13 hours per night for those aged 3 and 4.
- Ensure, as part of that, that children’s bedrooms are screen-free and that no screens are used in the hour before bedtime.
- Ensure children get sufficient physical activity, including screen-free play, each day. The UK’s Chief Medical Officers suggest at least 3 hours per day for under-fives.
“Who uses screens with children, and how they use them, matters. Responsive interaction between parents and children when using screens can prevent harms and promote development for young children.” — EYSTAG Report
Electronic Screen Content Matters
The report also highlighted important conclusions about the type of content being watched on screens by children.
They suggest that “Well-designed content and interactive activities that are appropriate for the child’s age can support young children’s language development, problem solving, memory, and early literacy” and that’s especially so when the content is viewed along with a responsible, supervising, supportive adult or older sibling.
In stark contrast to this, they concluded: “Fast-paced short-form videos raise particular concerns, with suggestions that rapidly changing, highly stimulating content may affect children’s attention and excitement.”
“What children are viewing also matters in determining whether screen use brings harms or benefits” — EYSTAG Report
So, if screens are watched by under-fives, parents should ensure that content is slower-paced, has limited movement, has a decent level of focus on faces, has backgrounds that are simple, and includes some repetition to make it easier for the youngest to understand it more fully. That said, long periods of repeated viewing of the same clips over and over again should be avoided. Content should also avoid speech that is too fast, too many characters speaking at the same time, and images and audio that change constantly. Screens like TVs should also not be on in the background as they could be detrimental to and a distraction from children’s more natural play and learning activities.
Online Safety
The EYSTAG recommendations, against which the new Government guidance has been made, also states some common sense suggestions for parents and carers around the topic of online safety. As one might expect, they include recommendations like using parental controls to limit access to potentially harmful content, ensuring that young children can’t access social media, avoiding access to AI tools, AI-enabled devices, and chatbots, and ensuring that children don’t see potentially harmful content on the phones of parents and carers. Should a parent or carer allow a young child to use their smartphone for a short while, then the EYSTAG recommendation is that they should watch the content with the child at all times to ensure suitability.
Parental Use of Smartphones in Front of Children
As the EYSTAG report states, children are heavily influenced by the behaviour of parents, and therefore if a parent spends significant time ‘doomscrolling’ on a smartphone, children will naturally want to copy. The report goes further to state that “there is growing evidence that parental use in front of young children could negatively impact upon their development or health.”
The main message there is therefore to think about how and how often you use an electronic screen/device in front of young children — as it does impact.
Final Thoughts
Much of this is common sense, of course. Moreover, in its report, EYSTAG recognised that parents always know their child best and the vast majority, of course, have their best interests at heart. Therefore, in tandem to taking on board the Government’s advice, they should therefore trust their instincts.
“Parents should trust their instincts as they make decisions about what is best for their child and for their particular circumstances. However, we recognise that in an ever-changing technological world, trusted and evidence-based information can help parents make informed choices that reflect both their values and their child’s needs” — EYSTAG Report
Little Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods
A High-Quality Childcare Nursery With its Own Forest School
The staff at Little Acorns Nursery fully understand how important it is to safeguard the wellbeing of children and under-fives around their use of screens. As part of that, children at the nursery regularly attend Forest School sessions, which get them outside, close to nature, which is so good for them. There, they learn about the world as well as hone a vast array of new skills as they play, explore, and discover. It’s a wonderful antidote to electronic screens! Learn more about Forest School in our ultimate guide.
Nursery Places in Clayton-le-Woods, Near Chorley
Are you looking for a nursery place for your child in the Clayton or Chorley area? If so, we would welcome your application. We are 
Little Acorns Nursery (Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley), are a good childcare provider according to Ofsted, and support funded places for eligible children. The nursery day also supports working parents by opening at 7:30 am and closing at 6:00 pm. If that sounds of interest to you for your child, please get in touch — we’d love to hear from you.
To explore a possible nursery place for your child at Little Acorns, please select an option below to get started:
Little Acorns is a high-quality childcare nurser in Clayton-le-Woods and may be convenient for those living or working nearby in such places as Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Chorley, Penwortham, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Leyland, Thorpe Green, Whittle-le-Woods, Lostock Hall, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, and Euxton.
For most families, electronic screens are everywhere. Across the country, there are TVs in living rooms, with many households also having them in kitchens, dining rooms, and even bedrooms. Smartphone use is also prolific. Additionally, we have tablets, computers, game consoles, e-readers, and even wearable smartwatches that have screens. So, rather like the movie title, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” electronic screens are nothing short of ubiquitous. But what effect does watching such screens have on people, particularly children? And is there an argument for taking a significant break from them once in a while? Today’s post explores the topic and explains Why Every Family Should Try a Digital Detox, whether for a day, a week, or significantly longer. Let’s dive in.
Common sense alone would dictate that spending hours watching electronic screens is, at the very least, unnatural for children. When you think about it logically, time spent staring at one spot, remaining physically inactive, cannot be good for young – or even old – brains and bodies. Indeed, studies have revealed some unsurprising findings relating to excessive screen use, especially for children, whose young brains and bodies are still in their infancy. Those under five are undergoing rapid brain development, so it’s a particularly crucial time for them. Indeed, 
A decrease in levels of stress, anxiety, and other emotional difficulties;
Unplugging from electronic screens has been shown to benefit families as a whole. Days and evenings together seem more relaxed and often feel significantly longer when screens are switched off. Then, families are soon likely to increase levels of connection and presence. Away from screens, there is likely to be more spontaneity and creativity too, with more talking, reading, playing, drawing, and making. Children will often display excitement about beginning each new activity, too. The overall family mood is often also improved, leading to a healthy and congenial atmosphere, with noticeably more laughter. What’s more, everyone becomes more aware of each other, engaging in group or sibling activities more readily, and being overall more attentive to one another. Then, when it’s time for bed, everyone feels more rested, and children will generally fall asleep more easily than ever before. Incredibly, all such benefits and this newfound quality time are achieved simply by stepping away from electronic screens.
When children and families unplug from electronic screens, it becomes natural for them to spend more time outdoors, closer to nature. That’s important because both outdoor play and a closer proximity to nature have incredibly significant benefits all of their own. To demonstrate that using just one example, studies showed that a mere 20 minutes spent closer to nature will improve a child’s happiness. In fact, nature boosts mental health so significantly that even just a view of nature through a window has been shown to boost academic grades, test results, and overall academic focus — incredible!
It’s wonderful for families when spring arrives: the coldest weather is behind us, the sun is out more often, and there is so much beauty to see outdoors. As spring progresses, more and more flowers appear, providing colourful displays, and all kinds of plants and leaves are sprouting forth. Following spring’s arrival, we’ll see more animals, birds and insects too. They’re likely to include delightful bumblebees attracted by newly-blossoming flowers, adorable snails and minibeasts on the look-out for food, and swifts flying acrobatically through the air, having returned to the UK after wintering overseas. Everywhere we look, nature is teaming with life once again.
With this in mind, it’s a wonderful opportunity to encourage children to get outside once more, enjoy nature and the fresh air, and embark on a Spring Nature Hunt. The activity is both fun and educational for little ones. Spending time in nature is also very good for children’s health and well-being. And the icing on the cake? Today’s activity comes with an attractive reference poster depicting 25 natural things for children to look out for — and it’s free for families to download.
There is an incredible array of names for parenting styles. You may have heard, for example, of names like helicopter parenting, velcro parenting, indulgent parenting, parent-led parenting, and mindful parenting, along with a myriad of other descriptions. Some styles are quite distinct, others are subtle variations of each other, and several have more than one name. No wonder it’s confusing!
Let’s start with a style that’s often referred to as the ‘gold standard’ of parenting styles — authoritative parenting. For many years, experts have suggested that this particular parenting style has possibly the best overall balance in its approach. However, it’s important not to confuse authoritative parenting, which is fairly gentle, with authoritarian parenting, a far more strict style. Authoritative parenting is thought by experts to have a well-balanced mix of elements in its approach, resulting in good outcomes for children raised under its style. The style typically has the following elements in its make-up:
Gentle parenting is a style that’s been very prominent on social media in recent years. Many may not realise, however, that it’s simply a soft variant of Authoritative parenting. That said, though, it still retains clear rules and boundaries for the child to follow. It’s crucially important, however, not to confuse gentle parenting with permissive parenting (also known as indulgent parenting), which, as the name suggests, has far fewer boundaries — very few in fact. Not so, though, with gentle parenting if approached correctly.
Permissive (a.k.a. Indulgent) parenting is a style that prioritises a child’s happiness over virtually everything else. As such, it’s a warm, empathetic, and loving parenting style. However, rules, structure, and discipline are extremely thin on the ground. Parents and children prioritise fun and their close relationship. When under-fives go through emotional periods in their development, it’s true that this permissiveness can counteract some of their emotional turmoil, but it does come at a cost.
Authoritarian parenting (not to be confused with Authoritative parenting explained earlier) is the harshest of today’s parenting styles. As the name suggests, parents who use this parenting approach tend to be rather like dictators, whose rules must be followed … or else! With this parenting style, children must do what they’re told, often without understanding why, and the parent dominates them. There is no warmth or empathy for the child with this style. What the parent says goes. High standards are usually demanded, with stern discipline and punishments if children do not comply or achieve such standards. There is also no debate, so children’s views are not listened to or taken into account.
Also known as neglectful parenting, uninvolved parenting “does what it says on the tin” i.e. children are very much left to their own devices with this style. They receive no love, affection, or empathy from parents. There are no rules or structure to their daily lives. They receive no guidance, and parents are certainly not role models. Children just have do make to as best they can, unsupported by parents. There may be different reasons for this, of course (not all ‘neglectful’ parents are uninvolved by choice — for example, they may be physically or mentally unwell or be working three jobs just to survive).
Overall effectiveness: Good
Summer is a wonderful time for children to get outdoors. There, they can breathe the fresh air, benefit from being closer to the natural world, and escape from electronic screens. Nature is incredibly good for children as well as adults (more about that later). A simple way to encourage little ones outdoors is to take them on an exciting and educational nature hunt! There are many fascinating things to look out for during the summer months including butterflies, caterpillars, bees, beautiful wildflowers and much more. A summer nature hunt will open their eyes and minds to the wonders of nature’s flora and fauna, lead to educational conversations with accompanying adults, and be an enjoyable and educational activity. Within all that in mind, we’ve put together a free Summer Nature Hunt poster that will give children and families an idea of what to look out for during the warmer months of summer — and serve as useful visual reference. The poster is free to download right here in this blog post (see below). Once printed out, it can be displayed large on children’s bedroom walls or taken along during the activity — perhaps reduced to a convenient size like A5. Children can use the little tick boxes to tick off each item that’s been spotted. So, venture out little ones — see how many wonderful things you can spot in the natural world this summer!
Many of the adorable creatures featured in the poster will be easy to spot at this time of year. Bees, hoverflies, and other pollinators are common to see where flowers are blooming. Butterflies are both stunningly beautiful and at their most abundant during July and August each year, so are sure to delight children with their fabulous colours and patterns. Delightful ladybirds are also rather abundant right now (time of writing: mid-July). Wildflowers like poppies and daisies always make the world a more beautiful place, so they’re a wonderful thing for children to discover too.
Has your little one ever seen apples growing on a tree? All that blossom from earlier in the year has now given way to little green apples that will grow and ripen as we head further into the year — eventually becoming ready to fall or be eaten come autumn. It’s a great example to show under-fives where some food comes from and explain why pollinators are so important.
As we said in the introduction, spending time in and around nature is incredibly beneficial to children of all ages. Studies have proven a myriad of benefits, in fact. Just a few examples include a lowering of stress and anxiety, improved motor skills, greater knowledge of the world (and children’s place within it), improved empathy for other living things, a feeling of greater responsibility for nature’s flora and fauna, a development of often lifelong greener values and choices, and even improved academic grades! These are just a few examples — the benefits of spending time closer to nature are incredible. Learn more about 
In September this year (2025), free childcare for eligible working families expands to 30 hours per week for children as young as just 9 months. Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods is supporting the funding scheme too. Taken usually over 38 weeks* of the year, it means a generous 1140 hours of funded childcare will be available to eligible children in Central Lancashire over the course of a year. For the first time, the funding will cover eligible babies aged from only 9 months and children up to 2, the scheme having previously rolled out to eligible 3-and-4-year-olds last year. An urgent factor to be aware of, however, is that the funding application deadline is only weeks away for those wanting to start in the September 2025 term. So, whether you’re thinking of applying at Little Acorns Nursery or elsewhere, don’t delay your application any longer if you want to access the free funding from September. If your child is eligible and you do not apply by the deadline, your child will not be able to access the free funding for the entire September term. Read on to learn more about the new funding for eligible working families, the deadlines for applications, and the rules that apply.
Helping to make childcare more affordable for working families;
You can apply for funded childcare for eligible working families as soon as your child reaches the age of 23 weeks (that’s just over 5¼ months). If successful, they’ll be able to start using their free childcare hours the term after they reach the age of 9 months. Depending on when that occurs, they’ll be able to start accessing the funded childcare from either the 1st of September, the 1st of January, or the 1st of April, with application deadlines for each being the day before.
National Children’s Gardening Week arrives in late May and is the perfect time for young children to get involved in gardening activities. In celebration of the event, we describe a wonderful gardening-related activity that’s small-scale, easy, fun, and educational — perfect for little ones! The finished result is also rather magical and, once complete, lends itself to imaginative play. Today, we outline how children can make their own miniature fairy gardens. These are a great way to introduce little ones to creative gardening at a child-friendly scale. Under parent supervision* and largely using scavenged materials from outdoors, under-fives can let their imaginations run free and get creative! What’s more, the results are simply enchanting and will bring magic and a whole lot of delight to young children!
National Children’s Gardening Week begins on the 23rd of May for 2026 and runs until the 31st. The timing is no coincidence as it’s generally a warm week and therefore perfect for gardening and growing plants and flowers. What’s more, it also spans the half-term school holiday that most schools recognise in the last week of May.
