Banning screens for children under 6? Even if it "seems unrealistic," "there are protective factors," says psychiatrist Serge Tisseron.

While the campaign launched in 2008 on the theme of "no screen time before age 3" has still not succeeded in producing the expected effects (screen time for 2-year-olds is approaching one hour per day), health professionals have just proposed a new objective: "No screen time before age 6." It is true that they are on the front line to receive children who are victims of massive screen overconsumption and to measure its catastrophic effects. In addition to the fact that such a ban may seem unrealistic to many parents and is fraught with implementation problems, recent studies show that there are numerous protective factors which, if implemented, would reduce both screen time and its most problematic consequences, in other words, risk factors.

First of all, It is essential to consider the distinction between accompanied and unaccompanied screens. Several studies have shown that while TV on in the background and total screen time reduce young children's language skills, co-viewing and educational content are associated with increased language skills. Literacy declines when children are left alone in front of screens, but increases when parents watch programs with them. In other words, it is possible to have not only socialization activities, but also learning activities with screens.

Support doesn't necessarily consist of watching programs together as a family. The Elfe study, published in 2024, shows that eating meals without TV is associated with better verbal reasoning scores at age 2, and cognitive development at ages 3.5 and 5. In other words, the idea that screen time is time lost for fundamental learning only applies to children left in front of a screen, and even then, this time must be significant—more than five hours per day. This raises the question of the difficulties parents encounter in explaining such a large volume of screen time. Underlying disorders such as depression could contribute to this overexposure.

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