Play and Reading Together

Babies love faces, voices, songs and simple toys. Reading aloud from infancy — pointing at pictures and naming them — is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics as part of early literacy.

For screens, the WHO recommends none for children under 2, and no more than one hour a day for 2–4 year-olds — less is better. When children do watch, watching together and talking about it helps.

Sources

1. Guideline · 2014

   The AAP recommends reading aloud with children from infancy, linking shared reading to language and early literacy development.

   Limits: Evidence is largely observational; benefits come from interaction, not from any single book or product.

   High PC, Klass P; Council on Early Childhood. Literacy promotion: an essential component of primary care pediatric practice. Pediatrics. 2014;134(2):404–409. doi:10.1542/peds.2014-1384

2. Guideline · 2019

   Screen time is not recommended for children under 2; for 2–4 year-olds, no more than 1 hour a day, and less is better. Reading and storytelling with a caregiver are encouraged.

   Limits: Global guideline; the WHO rated much of the underlying evidence as low or very low certainty.

   World Health Organization. Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age. Geneva: WHO; 2019.

3. Guideline · 2016

   Avoid digital media other than video-chatting for children younger than 18–24 months; for ages 2–5, limit screen use to about 1 hour a day of high-quality programmes, watched together with an adult.

   Limits: Recommendations from one national body, based on the evidence available in 2016.

   AAP Council on Communications and Media. Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics. 2016;138(5):e20162591. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2591

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