Family Life

7 Ways to Help Young Children Build a Healthy Relationship With Media

Children start forming media habits and preferences from a very young age. You can help set them up for a healthy relationship with media before they grow to be teens and young adults.

Here are some practical tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. Use them to help your kids build balance, critical thinking, self-regulation and safety skills around digital media—starting during the toddler years and all the way through elementary school. (For older kids, see "Talking With Tweens & Teens About Media: Conversation Starters.")

Click on each tip below to read more, or download them here. Also find healthy media use skill-building activities to try with your kids.

More information

Developed in partnership with the Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, which is co-led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in close partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Funding for the Center of Excellence was made possible by Grant No. SM087180 from SAMHSA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, SAMHSA/HHS or the U.S. Government.

Last Updated: 7/22/2024

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.