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Screen time, without the guesswork.

What research actually says about videos and young children — on one page, with sources. And what Bonbon does about each point.

Before you hand over the phone

Keep your child inside Bonbon

The lock in the player stops every tap. To keep your child from leaving the app too, iPhone needs Guided Access — the video shows how to turn it on.

iPhone · iPad How to turn on Guided Access Video by Eric Okafor on YouTube
Android No app pinning needed The lock button locks the whole thing out of the box.
Rules of thumb

How much, by age

The pediatric guidance in four tiles. Less is fine; quality matters more than the minutes.

Under 18 monthsNoneExcept video calls with family.AAP
18–24 monthsTogetherOnly good videos, watched with a parent.AAP
2–5 years≈ 1 hourA day, of good content. Less is better.AAP · WHO
6 and upLimitsConsistent ones. Sleep, play and school come first.AAP
What the research says

Ten things worth knowing

Short versions. The full citations are at the bottom of the page.

Fast cartoons drain self-control

Nine minutes of a fast-paced cartoon was enough for four-year-olds to do worse at tasks needing attention and self-control — compared with a slower cartoon or drawing.

Lillard & Peterson, Pediatrics, 2011In Bonbon: pacing is part of the check. The frantic style is rejected.

Content beats minutes

Slow, story-driven educational programs show measurable learning gains across dozens of studies. The same minutes on filler show none.

Mares & Pan, meta-analysis, 2013In Bonbon: fewer videos, better ones.

Under two, screens teach very little

Toddlers learn far less from a video than from a person doing the same thing in front of them — the “video deficit”.

Anderson & Pempek, 2005In Bonbon: the app is made for ages 2 to 9. Before that, the best screen is none.

Watching together doubles the value

Children learn more from a video when a parent watches and talks about it. Ten minutes of “what happened there?” beat an hour alone.

AAP, Media and Young Minds, 2016In Bonbon: history and the weekly report give you the titles to talk about.

Early heavy TV, later attention trouble

Each daily hour of TV at ages one to three was linked with more attention problems at age seven.

Christakis et al., Pediatrics, 2004In Bonbon: a daily limit the app keeps by itself.

Screens before bed push sleep later

Light and excitement delay sleep. No screens in the hour before bed, and none in the bedroom.

AAP, Media and Young Minds, 2016In Bonbon: a schedule, and calmer videos as evening comes.

Background TV hurts play

With a TV on that nobody is watching, toddlers play for shorter stretches and parents talk to them less.

Schmidt et al., Child Development, 2008At home: off when nobody is watching. In Bonbon the day has an end, and “Good night” marks it.

Children copy what they watch

Preschoolers imitated aggressive behaviour they had just seen on film — a finding replicated for six decades.

Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961In Bonbon: rudeness, tantrums and unsafe behaviour are filtered out.

Under eight, ads look like content

Children cannot reliably tell advertising from the program until about age seven or eight.

APA Task Force on Advertising and Children, 2004In Bonbon: no ads of our own, and no ad profile of your child. Ever.

An abrupt “that's it” causes meltdowns

A warning before the end works; a sudden cut-off does not. Parents know this one without a study.

Every parent, every eveningIn Bonbon: when time is up the app says “Good night” instead of cutting off.

Sources

  1. Lillard, A. S. & Peterson, J. (2011). The immediate impact of different types of television on young children's executive function. Pediatrics, 128(4), 644–649. doi:10.1542/peds.2010-1919
  2. American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on Communications and Media (2016). Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics, 138(5). doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2591 · Media Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2592
  3. World Health Organization (2019). Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age. who.int
  4. Mares, M.-L. & Pan, Z. (2013). Effects of Sesame Street: A meta-analysis of children's learning in 15 countries. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 34(3), 140–151. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2013.01.001
  5. Anderson, D. R. & Pempek, T. A. (2005). Television and very young children. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(5), 505–522. doi:10.1177/0002764204271506
  6. Christakis, D. A. et al. (2004). Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics, 113(4), 708–713. doi:10.1542/peds.113.4.708
  7. Schmidt, M. E. et al. (2008). The effects of background television on the toy play behavior of very young children. Child Development, 79(4), 1137–1151. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01180.x
  8. Bandura, A., Ross, D. & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63(3), 575–582. doi:10.1037/h0045925
  9. American Psychological Association (2004). Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children. apa.org

This page summarises published research for parents. It is not medical advice; for your own child, ask your pediatrician.