We get many questions about motivating kids to read a book instead of picking up their tablet, watching a show, or starting another video game. Parents are burdened by guilt that they allow “too much” screen time–a feeling made worse by the constant flood of studies about its dangers for developing minds.

Take for example, this fear-inducing 2019 headline from CNN: “MRIs show screen time linked to lower brain development in preschoolers.” In the article, CNN describes the results of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, complete with scans showing kindergartners’ brain activity on books vs. screens. The kindergartners who spent more time with books had growth in their brains’ white matter, whereas kids with “screen use greater than that recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics” showed more disorganized white matter.

It sounds dire. Dire enough to inspire parents to scatter books in every corner of the house, ban screens altogether, and feel upset whenever they ‘mess up’ and allow one stray glimpse at a tablet.

Professor of Economics, data scientist, and well-known parenting expert, Emily Oster, urges parents to take a breath. On the one hand, tons of research supports the long-term personal and academic benefits of reading books. You should definitely prioritize making your kids read whenever possible.

On the other hand, studies demonstrating the negative impacts of screen time often have glaring flaws or unavoidable confounding factors that make it hard to reach definitive conclusions about the right limits. That scary 2019 study cited by CNN? It looked at fewer than 50 kindergartners and relied on parent self-reporting about screen habits. And those recommended screen time limits from the American Academy of Pediatrics? As of 2025, they have been updated: “Unfortunately, there isn’t enough evidence demonstrating a benefit from specific screen time limitation guidelines.” OK then.

So what are parents to do without expert guidelines on the ideal amount of screen time vs. reading time? Ditch the guilt and create a personalized plan for your child! Don’t forget: you know your child best, and you have control as the parent.

Set screen time boundaries that make sense for your family. As Oster puts it, “Decide when it will be allowed–when and for how long–and then hold to that.” Promote reading first, whether for school or pleasure, but then come up with a realistic plan for incorporating inevitable screen time.

As you plan, consider two things: 1) the type and quality of content on the screen and 2) the “opportunity cost” of screen use. If you allow one hour of screen time per day, and your child plays a video game for that hour, what else could she have done instead? Would a learning game on the tablet have been better, or watching an educational show? Or, is it 100% fine that she just messed around today? The choice is yours.

In the rest of this issue, we set out to empower parents to get children excited about reading while still allowing for screen time that supports their learning (and maybe even a little fun). Discover how to strike the right content balance.

In today’s issue:

• Build a relationship with books using other media

• Create a reading “fan” through fandom

• Make it fair with family-wide standards

Take a Look, It’s In a Book

Long before iPhones, tablets, and even computers, parents worried that their kids were watching too much television. Teachers were concerned about television’s impact on mental development and academic performance. While it now looks like increased TV time didn’t negatively impact test scores, the anxiety sounds familiar.

Parents observed that TV was capturing their kids’ attention at the expense of other, formerly beloved activities. The creators of the show Reading Rainbow had a thought: if “kids were watching TV all summer, why not do something with it?” In other words, they turned potentially distracting, negative screen time into something productive. Their show inspired millions of young children across decades to visit the library and grab a book after each episode.

You remember the song. That’s the point. Quality counts when it comes to screen time, especially for the youngest students. You can use helpful tools like Common Sense Media to choose what your kids watch, wisely.

Creating a Reading Fandom

If you have an elementary schooler in 2025, you’ve heard “chicken jockey” more times than you can stand. (It’s A Minecraft Movie thing.) Kids this age gravitate toward fandoms around games, sports, and other activities they enjoy. It is totally natural.

National Geographic Kids reminds parents that screen-focused children are still still “seeking out stories.” At the core, a great story is what makes any content memorable. You can use your son or daughter’s desire for a rich, immersive narrative to inspire more reading for pleasure.

To start, pick books about their current interests that also speak to their personality. If your son is obsessed with Pokémon, grab a trainer’s guide book. Then move to books about interesting real-life animals. And finally, pick out children’s novels about adventure and exploring the natural world. No matter which direction reading takes them, enthusiastic readers grow to love great books and give themselves endless opportunities to learn. Even if what they read varies widely.

The Family that Limits Screens Together…

Mindless scrolling is not just a huge time waster. According to a recent study published by researchers at Columbia and Weill Cornell Medicine, it is also highly addictive. The study’s authors found that the total time spent on screens wasn’t the true problem. Rather, it was the fact that teens are engaging with screens compulsively.

You may think that you can’t turn things around, but you can. One powerful step is leading by example. Setting a family-wide restriction on screen time will show your teenager that you’re serious, fair, and in this together. You could even go so far as to let your child set your limit, like this mom did in The Guardian. The goal isn’t totally eliminating screens, it is managing addiction to mindless activity that comes at the cost of other priorities.

The result? You and your child will have better conversations and both be more likely to pick up books to read, especially if you take extra steps such as creating a ‘tech-free zone’ in your house–complete with a library!

Parents: Join the Conversation

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