Jonathan Haidt’s parenting rules for screentime at home

There is an entire generation navigating a world that has always been illuminated by the glow of laptops, tablets, and smartphones, living every hour with nearly 24/7 access to a universe of more data and content than past eras could have ever dreamed of amassing.

By age 2, close to half, 40% of children have their own tablet, according to a 2025 report by nonprofit Common Sense Media. By ages 13 to 18, 88% to 95% of teens have their own smartphones, according to a different report by the nonprofit.

In recent years the amount of screen time at school has increased as students and teachers transition to digital learning. For example, Chromebooks are used by 50 million students and teachers per day, according to Google.

In his bestselling book “The Anxious Generation,” social psychologist and professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business Jonathan Haidt links the coinciding rise of youth depression and anxiety with the rise of childhoods rife with screens.

“All these devices are designed to keep kids scrolling for hours and hours,” he told CNBC Make It at the Fast Company Innovation Festival last month. “The average screen time is eight to 10 hours, not including school.”

And Haidt believes that’s to the detriment of kids’ wellbeing. “We have to roll that back if we want any hope for them to grow up healthy,” he says.

Here is how Haidt recommends parents navigate the chaotic ecosystem of screens and apps in the home.

First, Haidt says his most important rule about kids’ screen use in the home is no devices of any kind in the bedroom.

“The really bad stuff happens when a child has their own touch screen device in a bedroom,” he says. They can end up spending hours on social media sites and other platforms without guardrails or supervision. They can end up seeing damaging content.

“God knows how many children saw the video with the blood spurting out of [Charlie Kirk’s] neck within hours, within hours of it happening,” he says. “We have no way to stop this at present, so we have to change the technological environment.”

Another one of Haidt’s most steadfast parenting rules is that kids should not get a smart phone before high school. A global study of 27,969 18-to-24-year-olds by nonprofit Sapien Labs found that mental wellbeing improved the older the age of first ownership of a smartphone or tablet.

But Haidt does offer up some flexibility, with the understanding that a completely device-free childhood is impossible in this day and age. So, as far as other screens go, “you can have a TV set in the living room,” he says.

“You can have a computer in the kitchen or the living room. They can use Google, they can watch some videos on YouTube.” But only on these shared devices, and in shared spaces, he notes.

When it comes to personal devices, whether it be a Chromebook for school or a smartphone when they get one in high school, parents should have a designated place for them, Haidt says.

He suggests a box for devices and clearly communicating its purpose to your kids and teens. “They live on the kitchen counter. If you need it, you check it out,” he says.

Kids can then use the device for a limited amount of time then put it back.

“My goal is not to keep kids away from computers or technology,” he says. Just to ensure they use it in a way that doesn’t harm their mental health.

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