UN: No screen time for babies; only 1 hour for kids under 5

LONDON — The World Health Organization has issued its first-ever guidance for how much screen time that children under five should get: not very much.

The U.N. health agency said Wednesday that children under 1 should not have any screen time while those under five should not spend more than one hour watching screens every day — and that less is better.

The guidelines are somewhat similar to advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics. That group recommends children younger than 18 months should avoid screens other than video chats. It says parents of young children should choose “high-quality programming.”

Dr. Max Davie of Britain’s Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health said “there is not strong evidence to support the setting of screen time limits,” and that “individual assessment is paramount.”